Rain of Sorrow
by Dejavu1978
Summary: Randy is lost when his father dies and his entire world is turned upside down. He doesn't need or want anyone in his life, including Rain, the girl next door who he finds attractive, but so does his step brother Ted. Rain gaurds a secret, terrified to let it out. Emotions and fear keep them together and apart at the same time. AU fiction.
1. Chapter 1

This is my new story. I hope you will like it. :)

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It was raining on the day she was born, coming down so hard that the car appeared to be sitting under a waterfall. Rain was the last word to escape her mother's lips on the side of that dirt back road and her eyes were on the newly born baby girl in her arms, so it was understandable that her grandmother assumed that the woman was naming her child.

Rain stood against a tree in the backyard of her grandmother's home. The funeral was over and her family gathered in small groups chatting and reminiscing, not noticing the first born grandchild or perhaps they were ignoring her. She rarely spoke, except to her grandmother who insisted that she spend the summers at her home.

Rain loved the summer months, the only time when she was relaxed and free, but this summer would be different as would the years to come. Her grandmother was the only person in the world who showed her any kindness and now she was gone.

Loud, angry voices carried out of the back door and into the yard and increased in volume as her father exited. Her father and stepmother, with their arms weighed down with bags of her grandmother's belongings, headed for the front drive way, her aunt screaming at him the entire time. Rain didn't have to be called; she knew the routine and hurried to catch up with them. No one cared for her father in the family, herself included, but she was stuck with him.

It took them an hour to get home. All she could do was stare out the window and choke back the sobs that wanted to fall, but she could not cry in front of her stepmother. The woman hated it and would punish her if she saw one single tear fall. Next to her she touched the porcelain carousel. It used to sit on her grandmother's coffee table and Rain could remember all the times her grandmother had wound it for her, letting her sit with her head propped up on the coffee table and watch it until it stopped. Oh, how she wished she could keep it with its perfectly painted white, black and brown horses, but it would be shattered to pieces if she dared to express her feelings. It was supposed to be hers after all according to her grandmother's words all her life. She closed her eyes and hoped that maybe her father had taken it to give to her just as his mother had wanted. However, she knew its value was the true reason he had taken it.

Luckily, by the time they got home, her parental figures were involved in another of their many arguments and she was able to slip out of the house and walk the neighborhood where she would be free to cry for the most important person in her life. She had never felt alone in the world until that moment. There would be nothing to look forward to any more, no relief from the hell she endured every day of her life and without school to go to every day in the summer days, she knew they would blame every single problem that occurred on her and her step mother, Grace, would surely make up a few for reasons Rain didn't understand. She always assumed that Grace just enjoyed watching her father whip her with his belt, but she didn't want to believe that a person could be that cold.

"Rain!" From behind, Ted, her next door neighbor, ran to catch up with her. He and his brother, Cody was the closest thing to a friend that she had, yet they didn't speak to her at school and neither did anyone else for that matter and she didn't blame them. She was a cast out and she didn't wish the teasing and bullying she endured on anyone. She wasn't pretty like the other girls and she dressed in clothes that were one to two sizes too big for her and most of them were stained or ripped. Her shoes were held together with duct tape most of the time. The only nice thing she owned was the dress and shoes she wore at that moment, bought for her just to make a good impression her family.

"Crap." She whispered to herself when she thought about what she had on. Her parents would surely be upset that she had not taken it off. She sighed and smoothed out the bottom of the blue jean dress. She loved it more than any other outfit she had ever owned and she doubted she would ever be able to wear it or the matching boots again.

"Wait up, Rain." Ted smiled and slowed his pace when he finally reached her side. "Wow, you're walking fast. Are you running away?" She wished she had the nerve to run away, but where would she run to?

"I heard about your grandma. I'm sorry." Ted put his arm around her shoulder and gave her a squeeze. She didn't know if he was truly offering his sympathy or just using it as an excuse to touch her. Ever since she had moved to his street two years earlier, he had expressed an interest in her, but he annoyed her. She dipped and took a step away, making his arm slip off her shoulders. She hated to be touched by anyone of the opposite sex.

"You look beautiful in that dress. I wish you would wear one more often." She looked at her feet. At fourteen all Ted thought about was seeing a girl naked and he didn't care who. He constantly bragged about the porn videos and magazines he had hidden and he often whispered provocative invitations in her ear. "I was getting ready to take a walk through the woods behind my house. Do you want to go with me?"

She shook her head and turned at the stop sign and began to head back. She walked faster hoping Ted would get the message and go away, but by the time she reached her drive way, he was still beside her and she wished he lived on the right side of her instead of the left because then he would be in his home and not have to pass hers to get to his backyard. She could tell by the way Grace stared at her on the front porch that Ted walking beside her would be turned into much more by her parent's estimations just as it had many times before, not just with Ted, but with any boy that she happened to be next to her.

She walked inside, hoping the sad day's events would excuse her from being their target.

"Did you have fun?" Grace snarled as she passed. "Did you twitch your ass enough for the neighbor boys?"

Rain closed her eyes. She had never once tried to walk in a manner that would attract anyone, but neither Grace nor her father would believe her words if she argued. They had their own assumptions about what she did and that was the only truth in their eyes.

Inside her father stared at her from the couch with those wide, wild blue eyes that terrified her. He had heard Grace's statement and she knew what would follow.

"Look at her. She just couldn't wait to take off and show off her legs. She and that boy next door were probably off in the woods doing who knows what."

In an instant her father flew across the room, striking her face and knocking her to the ground. For a big man he moved quickly when it came to wielding punishment. He cursed at her while he whipped her with his thick belt, the buckle coming in contact with her skin repeatedly. Her bare legs stung and she wished for the thick jeans that usually absorbed part of the blows.

"What have I told you about taking off with boys!" He growled and all Rain could do was lay there, biting her lip and praying for it to stop. She felt she was going to pass out by the time he finally did. "Go change and then go clean up the kitchen." He ordered. Grace stood with a smirk on her lips and things were good between her and her husband again because they had Rain to put down.

She'd cleaned up the dishes from that morning by the time Grace decided to cook supper for them and she learned that she would not be eating supper that night, another punishment for not cleaning up after breakfast, even though she had been rushed out the door right after the last bite had been eaten that morning.

That night as her stomach growled, she stared at the ceiling, praying she wouldn't wake up, wanting desperately to be wherever her grandmother was and finally be at peace.

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	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

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Randy stepped off the bus and looked around. He hated the small town he was born in and hated that he was being forced to spend the summer with his mother who he felt had abandoned him when he was young. He was close to his father and ignored her as much as possible, but his father felt he should give her a chance. The woman had been a drug addict and he was sure she still was despite the front she put on with her new life, new husband and new sons. He had never met his half brother Cody who was three years younger than him and he already knew he wouldn't like Ted, his step brother who was almost his age. He resented him because his mother raised him when she couldn't raise her own. He wasn't part of her life and he no longer wanted to be.

He took a breath of the country air and he wanted to vomit. All he could see was trees and he doubted they had a mall or a teen club he could hang out in on the weekends. Two and half months felt like a prison sentence.

"Baby!" his mother rushed towards him wearing short shorts and flip flops. She embraced him and stood like a statue refusing to return her affection. "Um." Awkwardly she stepped away and introduced him to her husband, Kyle, and Ted and Cody. Cody seemed eager to meet his older brother, but Randy just picked up his bag and through it over his shoulder, not even given them a smile. "Do you have a car or do I have rent a horse or something?" He said disrespectfully, looking down his nose at his mother and her family.

"Geeze, boot camp would have been better than this." He mumbled as they traveled deep into what looked like a forest. Trees every where he looked and soon the roads turned to dirt. "I guess the counties to cheap to pave all the roads." He complained while he bounced up and down with every bump in the road.

In the front seat he noticed his mother's shoulders shudder and he knew she was silently crying, but he could care less. She deserved to cry. She'd done it to herself.

He was impressed by her home, a two story with blue siding and a two car garage. Inside, it was beautiful and he realized that things had to have been pretty bad for his father to leave the home. He stood at the big bay windows in the foyer and let the sun hit his face. It felt familiar and he was tempted to sit on the soft pillow of the window seat and soak up the rays.

"You used to sit her when you were little and color. I think it was your favorite place in the whole house." His mother said placing her hand on his shoulder.

"Really? I don't remember." He shrugged her away and turned towards the stairs. "Where am I sleeping?"

"Your room." She sadly replied. "I kept it just how you left it." She laughed nervously. "But I think you're a little too old for it now. I just didn't want …"

"Its okay, Jody." Kyle lovingly rubbed her shoulders. "We can take Randy shopping tomorrow. We want you to feel at home son."

"I'm not your son." He spat and headed up the stairs. Ted hurried up behind him. Randy stopped at the top of the staircase.

"You're room is the last one at the end of the hall." Ted narrowed his eyes at him hatefully. "Mom and Dad's is up stairs. They made the attic into a room because she refused to use yours. I think it was a waste of her time and money."

"Ya, it was." Randy agreed.

"You're an asshole." Ted spat back and headed into a room with wrestling posters all over the walls and slammed the door.

"Whatever." Randy opened the door to his bedroom and sighed. She wasn't joking about leaving it just as it was when he was five. The toys were still on the floor, including a small block building that he guessed he had thought was a garage. He kicked it down and picked up the small match box replica of a corvette and flicked its hood up and down. Then threw his bag on the floor and then laid down on the small bed, letting his feet hang over the edge. He didn't know how he was going to sleep on the tiny bed and thought his mother stupid for keeping his old things. He fell asleep watching an old toy mobile that was attached to the ceiling fan.

Later that night a soft knock woke him and he sat up and glowered. His mother came in without waiting for him to invite her in and laid a pizza box on his bed. It was hot and he knew his mom must have ordered it special for him.

"Your dad said it's your favorite." She said and sat a glass of ice and a two liter of soda on the night stand. "I'm really glad you're here. I love you." She softly stated and left. He listened to her go upstairs. He got up and stared out the window, thinking about rejecting her bribe, but then he decided he would be hurting himself more than her and she wasn't worth it. He grabbed a slice of the large pizza and inspected it. He gave her credit for trying hard enough to find out that he enjoyed a veggie pizza with hamburger added. He hated the grease that came with all the meat but wasn't completely satisfied with just vegetables. She'd even remembered that he didn't care for tomatoes and had them taken off, but he wasn't ready to forgive her. After all, she had chosen her drugs over him a long time ago and had done them so intensely that his father felt the need to take him away from her.

He returned to the window as he ate. From his window he could see over the six foot tall wooden fence and into the yard of the neighbors. He finally knew where all the noises were coming from. The man next door worked in his shop even though it was dark and had started to rain. It didn't bother him, in fact he thought about going over and meeting the man and seeing if he could secure a summer job. He loved working on cars and thought it would help make the time go by.

A girl who he assumed was close to his age walked out of the garage and turned on a water hose. He watched as she took a piece of sand paper and started water sanding it in the rain. He thought it was strange, but assumed the man needed to paint the car in a hurry and couldn't afford to lose the time because of the rain. Instantly, the girl had his attention. A girl who worked on cars was rare especially in the city where he was from.

He polished off the pizza and let out a loud burp, then pulled out his laptop. He cleared the nightstand of what he thought was an idiotic clown lamp and moved it closer so he could use it as a desk. After a few moments, curiosity got the better of him and he had to open the drawer and inspect what was inside. He smiled when he opened it and found treasures he had long forgotten about. A small notebook, his Spiderman pen, binoculars and many other small spy items lay untouched with his last mission open with his barely readable and childish handwriting. The instant he saw them he remembered how he had played in the woods behind the house while his father worked out in the glass building he had built far in the woods near the stream that crossed their property. He pawed around in the deep drawer and found film – for a Polaroid camera his father had given him. He was suddenly happy and suddenly felt glad that he had came back to the home of his youth. He hurried and put on his shoes, grabbed a light hooded jacket and put the film in his pocket, hoping it would still create good pictures.

He told no one where he was heading and slipped through the dark home remembering the layout as if he had never left. He felt like a little boy again, a feeling he had lost quickly after he had moved to the city. Ten years was so long, yet it wasn't much time at all. He stole through the wet ground even though the rain fell and the thunder warned of nearby lightening. He had to see if it was still there – and it was.

The windows were dirty, appearing to be painted an ugly, dingy green and the red door stood against it, no longer on its hinges, but leaned against the opening instead. He moved it to the side and stepped in. He felt the wood beside the door and found the light switch and flipped it on. It worked and he was shocked to find that the inside was not covered in layers of dust. Even the gym equipment seemed to have been wiped clean, but he wasn't interested in that at the moment. He crossed the room and sat down on the twin bed his father had placed there just so Randy could take naps when he would become tired. He reached underneath and pulled out a black case. Remaining exactly where he had left it, the case had gathered some dust, but inside his camera was preserved. He pulled it out and the lenses that made it possible for him to take pictures from a great distance and put it together, remembering how his father had always done it for him. He put on a long bar, the flash bulbs were so much bigger on the old model and it made him laugh when he thought about how silly he looked as a child carrying around the big thing. He took it to the house and went to sleep, thinking it would be easier to test it the next day when the rain had stopped.

The next morning he woke up and stretched, hitting his head on the headboard. He wished he had slept in the gym, but the old blankets had not been washed in years and he knew he would have coughed all night from the musty smell they possessed. He stood and remembered he had to deal with his mother and her family and he groaned. He wasn't ready for that and wished they would leave him be and let him reminisce the child hood he'd shared with his dad at this place.

He looked out the window. The girl was again out in the yard, sanding the car with the water hose. It was early and he wondered if she had gone to bed at all. He took the binoculars from the night stand and looked out at the same moment she pulled her long auburn hair behind her ear. She wore no make-up and her clothes were wet and dirty, but he thought she pretty, perhaps one of the prettiest girls he'd ever seen.

He couldn't help himself. He took out his camera, adjusted the lens and waited until the perfect moment to click the button. He took a couple more and then set them on the window seal to watch them develop while at the same time he watched her until a tall blonde woman came to the back porch and called her inside.

He lay on the bed and examined the photos he'd taken. The film was old, leaving a brownish stain around the edges and in the middle on two of the photos. Yet, the picture he liked best lacked the middle stains and defect seemed to frame the girl in rusty swirls. She had turned her head slightly to look behind her, her hair flew around her with the light wind and the splash of the water had been captured perfectly. He couldn't imagine clipping a better photo out of a magazine.

"You ready sport?" Randy rolled his eyes and stared at the man in his doorway. "Come on, I know you didn't sleep well on that small thing. Let's go. Just you and me."

"Won't the other guys get jealous?"

"Look." The man came in and closed the door. "I know you have anger issues, especially where your mother is concerned and I was going to wait until you settled in to have this talk with you, but I'm just going to say it now. I love that woman and she loves you very much. She made mistakes and I know that's something you and her have to work out, but I won't sit back and let you disrespect her in my house."

"Your house? It's more my house than yours. My father gave it to her."

"Really? That's where you're wrong, kid. Your father took you, yes. Your mother was doing some wrong, she never lies about that, but he left her with nothing, but this place. This place with a very big mortgage I should add and no money to pay for it. Your mother could have given up and ended up on the streets, but she didn't. She cleaned herself up and worked two jobs at the same time to keep this place. She did it for you, so you would have a home to come back to one day. Rather you believe that or not I don't care, but it's the truth and I admire her for it."

"Still doesn't make it yours." Randy spat, but in a lower tone.

"We've done everything together for the past nine years, so think what you want. I don't have to prove anything to you. Now, can we put this behind us and go get you some things for your room or would you rather keep the baby toys?"

"Fine." Randy rolled to his feet and followed him out. He didn't know what to think of his so called step father, but part of him did think it was cool how he stood up for his wife.

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	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

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Rain's eyes stung and they only wanted her to close them, but that was impossible. She had been out in the rain all night because her father didn't think the job she'd done on his customer's car was good enough. Three times he'd sent her back out into the storm and at times she thought she was going to be struck down by the lightening that lit up the entire sky.

Her fingers hurt. She'd lost the feeling in them before midnight. Now they were purple, white and wrinkled. She tried to soak them in the hot dish water as long as she could without angering anyone, hoping the warmth would help them, but it didn't.

"Hurry up with that and get out of here."

There was hope for the day after all. The phrase was common in her home, mostly on the weekends. It meant that her parents had guests coming over and they didn't want her around bothering them. They would drink and party and she knew they consumed more than alcohol. She didn't care because their need for illegal substances gave her at least one day of peace, sometimes more.

Company had already begun to arrive before she finished washing dishes and Grace was staring her down with evil eyes until another blond walked up beside her and her expression instantly turned sweet.

"Rain, why don't you pack a picnic for yourself before you take off?" She said in a sickeningly fake sweet tone. "She likes to wander in the woods." She was then off with her friend to gossip and paint nails.

Rain didn't care. She was starving and had missed two meals. She quickly made herself two sandwiches from the variety of lunch meats that her father loved, making them extra thick and ignoring the portion rules Grace usually made her follow. She topped it with lettuce and black olives, dashed a little Italian dressing on it and then grabbed an entire bag of chips and a container of homemade dip from the table. Grace had made so many, Rain doubted she would notice that her friends hadn't eaten it. The laughter coming from the living room told her that the adults had already begun their journey to getting high.

After snatching a two liter soda from the counter, she hurried to change into some dry clothes, choosing her best pair of jeans, the only pair that fit her snuggly and a plain neon green tank top, then she ran from the house carrying her small bag of food hugged tightly to her chest. She rushed into the woods and headed towards her favorite hiding spot as fast as her tired legs would allow. She never knew why the glass shack was built so deep into the woods of the neighbor's property, but she knew none of them used it anymore. She ducked through a space that the leaning red door provided and sat upon the bed. She spread the food out in front of her and it looked as good as a big Christmas dinner to her at that moment. She took a big bite and savored every flavor, chewing it very slowly. After her first sandwich she felt full, but still munched on the chips until she thought she would heave. Finally, she stashed the leftovers in the corner, thankful that the trees kept the shack a little cooler than the outside temperature and since it wasn't hot that day, but instead unusually cold, she didn't worry about it spoiling.

As wonderful as the rainy weather was for her food, it wasn't so great for her. She didn't own a jacket and didn't think to look for a long sleeve shirt. She hugged her knees as she laid her head on a musty smelling pillow and folded the bottom of the frail old blanket over her. Still she felt cold, but she was so tired that she soon passed out.

She woke up feeling extremely warm. Her eyes fluttered open to an orange glow. Instantly she was terrified that the shack was on fire, but when she focused she saw that someone had lit a fire in the small fireplace, something she had never done for fear her father or step mother would find her there.

Feeling the warmth felt so good after the night before, but the day was supposed to bring warmer temperatures so it made no sense to her that she would still be so cold. She hugged the blanket closer and realized that she was covered with a clean and thicker blanket than she had covered herself with. Immediately she assumed that Ted had followed her, but a series of sneezes stopped her from jumping up and leaving.

"Hey, take it easy." A hand touched her forehead. "You're burning up." It wasn't a familiar voice and it scared her. She sat up and touched her head, it started throbbing. She coughed, making her head ache even more. When she'd finally stopped she gazed into a pair of steel blue eyes. He appeared stern and that scared her more.

"So, do you always break into other people's property?" She swallowed hard. She didn't know who this guy was and he didn't look to be much older than her, but he presented himself as someone much older. She had permission from the lady who owned the property to be there and sometimes she believed that the woman knew something about Rain's life, even though she never told anyone. Yet, she couldn't tell this guy that. She couldn't make herself say a word to him. Instead, she got up and tried to leave, but he stopped her, stepping between her and the door.

"What's your name?" he demanded taking a step towards her and she felt threatened. As he took another step she sunk to the floor, hugged her legs and tucked her head down, a reflex that she did whenever she felt that someone was going to strike her. "Hey, are you okay? Are you going to pass out or something?" He dropped down, scooped her up and placed her back on the bed. "Where do you live?"

That was the last thing she remembered before she again fell back to sleep.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

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Randy wanted to be mad about the girl's intrusion into his father's special place, but he couldn't. He had been shocked to show up and find her sleeping in his bed that night. He'd planned to spend the night there and because of Kyle's discussion he had even cleared it with his mother, who had seemed happy that he was finding something that interested him at her home.

He covered the girl up with the blanket. She had felt so cold when he had arrived and went to wake her that he decided to leave her be and covered her with the blanket he had bought that day. Instead he cleaned out the old mini fridge, after he had turned on the breaker that would give it electricity, and placed the snacks and drinks he'd brought with him into it along with the bag of food he found that he thought was the girls. It amazed him that it worked at all, but it did give off a noisy whining sound.

Hours later, the sun had set and it began to get cold again. The rain returned and so did the winds and he worried that the storm could turn stronger. He started a fire to take the chill off the room thinking about how different the northern temperatures were compared to his at home in the south. Even though it had been seventy-something the day before, he'd still felt cold when he stepped off the bus.

Then the girl woke up looking as though she was lost. He hadn't meant to scare her and had only meant to joke with her. Now she was asleep again and although he knew where she lived, he couldn't carry her home through the heavy rain and wind. Instead, he fixed the door, kind of hoping the noise wouldn't awake her and at the same time wishing it would.

Soon there was nothing else to do, but sit on the bed next to her and think about asking Kyle if he could bring the old television set from the garage to his father's gym. He lay on his back and looked up at the glass ceiling. One of the panes was not as bad as the others and he could see out and watch the rain fall. He slipped under the blanket beside the girl and let his eyes close.

Hail began to fall and the sound of shattering glass awoke him from his slumber where he found himself intimately close to the girl with his hands beneath her shirt, comfortably clutching one of her breasts. He knew it was inappropriate and he should move, but it was such a nice feeling.

Then, one of the glass panes broke and the wind howled even louder. The hail fell harder and larger, causing another one to shatter. Then another. The girl woke up and screamed as one nearby above them shattered and instantly covered her head. Randy covered her with his body and then threw the blanket over them both. He could hear glass falling all around them and he feared the frame would soon be blown down burying them both in its rubble.

The girl's scared sobs kept him from giving in to his own panic and he wrapped his free arm around her waist and gently squeezed her. He had already placed one arm around her head and used his fingers to stroke her soft hair.

"Shhh … it's going to be alright." He tried to console her even though he wasn't so sure himself. "It's okay. He could feel the wind getting stronger; he heard the door blow open. A loud crash, then thunder and then a crackle and crack. He knew the sound, a tree was falling and it sounded close. "Get off the bed." He commanded, rolling himself to the floor, taking her with him. Quickly he pulled the mattress on top of them and covered her with his body again. The tree fell and heard the glass break and wood snap and metal clang.

"Randy!" he heard voices calling in unison and a woman shrieked the moment the tree had fallen. They came closer and he heard it clearer. "Randy!" He moved the mattress away and saw that the tree had only taken out a corner of the building, but there was still so much damage that the weather to poured in. "Randy!"

The girl still cowered beneath him, sobbing softly. He tried to console her, but was distracted by the feel of bare skin beneath his hands. He stared into the trepidation in her eyes and hoped it was the storm that frightened her and not his touch.

"Hey, it's over. It's over." She turned towards him and threw her arms around him. He returned the hug and let out a breath of relief. His heart was beating so fast and he had been almost as scared.

"Randy, oh my – are you okay?" He heard his mother yell through the wind. The voices seemed to holler frantically until they stepped inside the glass shack. They stopped and stared with mouths wide open, except for Ted whose stare seemed full of hatred. Randy suddenly realized what it must have looked like to them to find him and the girl next door together in the middle of the night with their arms wrapped tightly around each other. He knew it looked even worse considering her shirt was rolled up just beneath her bosom exposing part of her body.

His mother didn't yell at him as he had expected.

"Thank God you're alright." She rushed to hold him in her arms, pulling him close as soon as he got to his feet.

"I'm fine, Jody." He said, refusing to call her mom. He knew it hurt her, but he didn't care. He then turned to help the girl up. She was ghostly white and shook violently.

"A tornado touched down a little ways up the road." Kyle told him. "We better get to the house. We still have a hell of a night ahead of us. Jody, we need to get Rain home and then get to the cellar."

Randy didn't argue and followed their lanterns through the woods. He had no idea that the weather was going to be so bad and he was sure his mother hadn't known either or she would have never let him out of the house.

"I'll take Rain home." Ted said while he hatefully, his eyes narrowed at Randy.

"No. She's coming to the cellar with us." His mother argued, giving her husband a look that said she knew more than she was going to say out loud, but Randy couldn't guess what that could be.

Although the night was so black, he could still make out a little of the damage the storms had done as they rushed back to the house and Kyle ushered them all downstairs into the basement. Randy remembered the space had frightened him as a child. It had been cold and dark and emitted strange noises, but now it hardly resembled what he remembered. It was completely renovated with a big screen television, a pool table and a bar with both soda and beer taps. Comfortable furniture looked inviting and he couldn't get over the size of the room.

"Randy, the bathrooms in the corner and we have snacks in the cupboards behind the bar if you are hungry. Are you hungry, baby."

"No, I'm fine." He said, still in awe of his surroundings. He had never imagined his mother had done so well for herself and he had always figured her new husband was just another drugged out loser like her. Still, he wasn't ready to forgive her for abandoning him.

Ted continued to glower at him from the couch. He sat close to Rain and Randy soon began to suspect that the two were dating. He didn't want to know what Ted thought had happened between him and Rain that night before the storm.

Then he was confused because she left the couch the moment Ted placed his arm around her shoulders. She stood against the wall with her arms crossed over her breasts. She didn't look up from her shoes and she still appeared shaken. Rain was a mystery to him. Did she belong to Ted? Was she pulling away from her boyfriend because of what just happened in the gym?

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	5. Chapter 5

Rain could not get her body to stop shaking. The winds outside terrified her just as much as she had been when the glass shack came down all around her. Ted was angry as well and she still didn't know who that guy was that protected her. She tried to remember how warm and safe she had felt only moments before the glass began to shatter. She had awoken and found herself in the arms of a stranger. She should have been horrified to find his hands under her clothes and fondling her, but she felt comfortable instead and didn't want to move. His soft snoring made her smile and for a moment she pretended that she no longer lived under her father's roof and that she was grown, in her own place with a man who truly loved her and showed it.

And then the winds came crashing through her fantasy, waking her up and reminding her that what she was doing was wrong. Now she had to worry about what her father would do to her when he was told about her escapade with the boy. Surely he would believe that she had spoiled herself and he would punish her for her sin.

"We're going upstairs. Do not leave this room, understand?" Kyle commanded all of them and he and Jody hurried up the stairs. As soon as they were gone Ted turned his eyes from the stranger to her. He crossed the room and took her by the arm and pulled her into the bathroom. He shut the door and stared her down.

"I feel like an idiot. I've spent so much time trying to show you how much I like you. Hell, I've helped you do your yard work and … and … damn it … you screwed that jerk the moment you met him?"

Rain wanted to scream at him and tell him that it was none of his business what she did because she had never belonged to him and she never would. What little affection she had felt for Ted denigrated that moment because he assumed she had done something she hadn't and he spoke hatefully to her. She already put up with her father and stepmother; she didn't need another person in her life making her miserable. She was better off alone and the boy in the shack was no different. He had spoken hatefully to her as well.

She couldn't look Ted in the eyes and she wished she was stronger. So many people ran over her, yet she believed she didn't have the right to defend herself. She just wasn't that important and no one would care how she felt anyway. All they would do was knock her to the floor if she even dared.

"Whatever. It's not like you're pretty or sexy or anything." Ted harassed her. "Hell, you're getting too big in the waist for me anyway."

Ted's words cut her deep. So deep that when he left she shut the door and cried. Not because she had liked Ted, but because she had heard those same words over and over again. Why did people feel the need to bring up what she already knew? She'd only been told her entire life.

She didn't know how much time had passed before someone knocked softly on the door. By that time she was crouched in a corner sobbing uncontrollably. She couldn't make herself stop no matter how hard she tried. She didn't answer the door, only wanted whoever it was to go away. She buried her face against her knees and let her hair fall around her, hiding her in darkness.

She felt a presence beside her, but she didn't look up. She just continued crying. She didn't care if it was her step mother who would beat her for crying. What did it matter, her parents would beat her if she was laughing as well. She just wished that she had been alone in that house and that it had fallen on her and killed her.

"Stop." The same voice that whispered in her ear at the shack commanded her. She turned her head and stared at him. "Stop." He repeated.

She choked back her sobs, finding it hard to breath.

He didn't smile. He only stared at her before wiping her hair out of her face. He wiped away her tears and then handed her a small bottle.

"Drink this. It will help." She knew the smell the moment he opened his own and downed it. It was whiskey. She had never tried it and wasn't sure how it could help her feel better, but she did it as he did and drank it down. It burned and tasted horrible. "One more." He said giving her another. She didn't ask where he had gotten them, but he second one made her feel warmer and more relaxed. She hiccupped and then smiled. "I'm going to play a game of pool." He stated and walked out. Rain wondered if it was his way of inviting her to join him, but she wasn't sure.

She stepped out of the room and saw that Jody and Kyle had not returned and it worried her that they had been gone so long.

Cody and Randy played a game of pool while the weather report played on the television above. She heard the rumble of their generator from the outside and she had a feeling that the entire town was out of power at the moment. The storm seemed to have passed, but another line of storms was still expected.

"You're on my team." Randy placed the cue in her hand and Ted stepped forward to show he was involved as well. They took turns and Rain found she was no good at the game.

"No. Like this." Randy commanded her like he was a drill sergeant, reprimanding her form and bad shots. He forcefully positioned the stick in her hands and made her bend this way and that. She did like the way his body felt when it touched hers even if his tone was threatening. "Slowly back and forth, then hit the ball."

She learned quickly and smiled every time she managed to hit one of the balls into a pocket. Ted leered and before long he and Randy were nose to nose.

"Why don't you go back where you came from? You're not part of this family!" Ted screamed at him and Rain couldn't figure out what had sparked their fight.

"I wouldn't want to be!" Randy shouted back.

"Guys. Stop it!" Cody yelled getting between them, only to be pushed out of the way. Soon fists were flying and Rain was frozen in place. "Stop!" Cody yelled. She could tell seeing both his brothers fight hurt him. "You're going to chase him off, Ted!"

"Good! He's nothing but trouble anyway. He's done nothing but make mom cry since he got here!"

"What do you care? She's not your mother." Randy hurtfully responded.

"You don't deserve to have a mother like her and you sure as hell don't deserve a girl like Rain." Ted snarled.

"She's not my girl." Randy calmly corrected him, wiped the blood from his lip and then plopped down on the couch. "I guess making friends is a crime around here."

Rain felt hurt even though Randy was right. She wasn't his girlfriend and she wasn't sure they were friends either. But he did make her feel things she didn't want, feelings that would get her in trouble.


	6. Chapter 6

chapter 6

* * *

The storms lasted all night and they were all finally forced to sleep in sleeping bags on the floor. Ted made sure he slept between Rain and himself. Rain appeared uncomfortable having Ted so close and he saw her move further away every time Ted moved closer.

Kyle and his mom still hadn't returned and he began to worry. And that made him yell at himself in his head because he didn't think he should be worrying about the woman he had only seen a couple of times in his life.

At first it was his father who did not want him to meet his mother again and then he finally gave in and let her come see her child. By then Randy was ten and bitter towards her. True, she only took him out for lunch and then bought him whatever he wanted from a store once a year, but it was more than Randy wanted. His father forced him to do it at least once a year and then left it up to him rather or not he wanted to see her again. Then out of the blue, his father tells him that he has to spend the summer with her and her family. It made no sense. He thought about how awful his father was going to feel for making him go when he found out about the tornadoes and how he had put Randy in the middle of them.

He couldn't sleep. He got up and paced. Ted finally got his way and slept with his arm around Rain and it angered Randy even though he didn't have the right. He finally had to sit down and try to figure out why he felt the way he did. He thought about the night and how she was. He didn't have much to go by because he barely knew her. In fact, they hadn't been properly introduced and he had already touched more of her than he had his girlfriend back home that he had been going steady with for the past four months.

Then wondered if what had happened in his sleep was considered cheating. Carrie, his girl back home, was really just a good friend who he shared a kiss with from time to time. He was fifteen. It couldn't be considered serious and they really couldn't be classified as a couple, could they? Of course he wasn't innocent by no means having had a several sexual experiences with the daughter of one of his father's girlfriends the year before. Rain wasn't the same as those girls and he thought that was what he liked about her. She wasn't assertive or conceited and he wondered why she always looked at her feet. She had to know she was gorgeous with those big blue green eyes and that long curly hair that appeared so red when the light hit it. So far he had only seen her smile a few times and she really shined when she did. Rain just had those features that have to be bought. He imagined her becoming a model and he imagined her in a pair of shorts that showed off long bare legs.

"Guys." His mom returned and softly woke everyone. "Storms over." She appeared tired and her clothes were dirty and had spots of blood on them.

"Mom," Randy cried out before he could stop himself and ran to her side. "You're hurt?"

"No." she smiled and lovingly touched his cheek. "It's not my blood, baby. I'm okay, but some of the neighbors weren't so lucky."

His mother had been out in the storm all night helping people. Again he was surprised.

"Where's Dad?" Cody awoke and yelled out.

"He's fine. He went upstairs to take a shower. Randy, you have your driver's license right?"

"Yes." He had a provisional and couldn't wait to be sixteen when he could drive anytime he wanted. "But I don't know if it's good out of state.

"Don't be silly. You can drive on it in any state." She patted his shoulder. "Come. You and Rain."

Randy thought that his mother was finally going to talk to them about what she had seen at his father's gym. It annoyed him that she would worry about something so trivial after all they had been through and nothing had happened.

Rain's gasp shocked him. It was the first sound he'd heard come from her lips. Her hand covered her mouth and he followed her gaze. The double wide mobile home she lived in next door had been split in half by a large oak. She made her way through a maze of debris until she was standing in her front yard.

"This is where my bedroom is." She whispered and Randy was so glad she had not gone home. The tree had landed on top of where she more than likely would have been lying. It would have killed her without a doubt.

"You're dad is in the hospital." His mom said. "He's going to be okay, but we can't find Grace. Do you have any idea where she may have gone?"

"They made me leave." Rain only spoke in soft whispers. "I don't know."

"Okay, we're going to take you to the hospital. Come on."

"I'm so tired; I don't think I can keep my eyes open to drive any further." She sighed handing Randy her keys. Randy looked at her car and was shocked that she owned a new Viper and that she was letting him drive it. "Pull out real slow, honey. This thing doesn't handle the standing puddles very well and there are trees down all over so you'll have to take your time."

"How do I get to the hospital?" He asked suddenly aware that he had no clue rather to turn left or right from the drive way.

"Right, then straight till you get to town, and then follow the signs." She said and stepped away from the car. He did just as she had said but the car had a lot more power than the truck his father let him practice on and he ended up spinning the tires in drive. He looked in the mirror and found her only smiling and waving to him. He had expected her to change her mind about letting him drive.

The hospital took forever to get to and he imagined it was a long ride even when there weren't trees and emergency vehicles slowing them down. Rain stared out the window and he thought about taking her hand, but decided not to. He didn't need to start anything with someone he may not see again after the summer and perhaps maybe that day.

The man he saw lying in the hospital bed was a huge man. His belly seemed as big around as he was tall and he seemed irritated to be in the bed.

"They're making me stay here over night, so I guess you'll have to stay with the neighbors." He growled, spitting chewing tobacco out in a cup after each phrase. It sickened Randy how the man sucked in and spit a little even when he wasn't spitting out his chew. His teeth were blackened around the edges and his hands were stained with various paint colors and grease. His hair was as wild as his eyes and he was spotted with freckles.

"I don't know where the hell Grace is. She took off with that damn friend of hers and probably hooked with who knows who. I'm sick of her anyway."

Randy decided to leave the room. The man was crude and he thought him a little selfish. He had even reprimanded Rain for not coming home that night even though the evidence proved she'd have been killed if Randy's mother hadn't made her stay in their basement.

Nearly an hour later, Rain came out, looking sadder than when she had gone in.

"Are you hungry?" Randy wanted to cheer her up desperately. She didn't give him and answer appearing almost scared to talk to him. "Okay, then I will take you to the cafeteria for breakfast anyway." It was closer to lunch time, but he didn't care. He was hungry and he knew she had to be too.

He had to order the food for her and she picked at it, but finally ate the entire large breakfast platter he had made for her at the buffet.

"You can talk to me you know."

"No, I can't." she whispered, but she wouldn't explain herself no matter how much he begged her to.


	7. Chapter 7

Rain's father seemed to have blamed all his problems on her just as he always did. As if her absence alone had caused the tree in their back yard to be taken down by a down draft. She had done exactly as she was told and she knew from experience that he would have been angry if she had returned home before breakfast. It was a once a week occurrence usually. They didn't want her around to spoil their good time.

Now, she was in trouble for doing as she was told. She was damned if she did and damned if she didn't with her parents. She didn't know if she was coming or going. She walked around feeling like a huge weight was on her shoulders and invisible shackles were on her feet. She was scared to smile, to laugh and always stood tense expecting to be struck down at any moment. Her body trembling was something that was part of her everyday life.

She thought about the night before with Randy and that one moment where she wasn't shaking and she wasn't scared. She didn't know any other state of living besides the one she endured. Her grandmother had cared about her but even she had a sharp tongue when Rain accidentally spilled or knocked something over.

She had a lot of work ahead of her. Her father had given her money and she had to ask Randy to stop at any open store so she could get a bunch of trash bags, if he could find one. She was also under strict orders not to talk to any of the neighbor's boys unless she absolutely had to and she was forbidden to be alone with them. Thankfully her father had no clue that Randy had driven her alone to the hospital.

There was one bit of good news to come out of all of the devastation. Grace had taken off and hopefully would never return meaning that Rain would be able to do chores around the house without her dictating her every movement and without Grace's lies the beatings she received would surely decrease.

When she got back she went straight to her yard and began to clean up. Luckily, the garage had not been damaged so the rake was there saving her from picking up all the trash by hand. There was so much that she feared she would never get it done.

It took her most the week to get done, even with the neighbors helping her without her asking of course, but there was nothing she could do for her home, which her father had wanted cleaned out of all their belongings. The county would not allow her inside and she didn't think it was safe any way. She doubted her father would take that answer as an excuse.

Soon, he was out of the hospital and seemed to be in a good mood, except that informed her that they would be living in the garage for awhile. Thankfully the office of the garage was a decent size and after a week of eating what Jody brought for them to eat, her father bought a stove, fridge and a sink and made a kitchenette in the corner of the office.

Summer soon ended and Randy went home. School began and her father decided to build on to the garage and she was stuck helping him build two small rooms onto the office after school every day. They were tiny rooms, but she was happy she had her own space again.

Grace's absence made her life more tolerable and sometimes her father was not so bad to be around and he was nice to her, but he still forbade her to wear makeup or do anything that could possibly make her appear attractive. He would become irate if he caught her with her hair pulled into a ponytail.

Her wardrobe was less than accepted by her peers at school. Bullying was a big deal at her high school and fitting in was not only desired, but it was necessary. Some kids were able to fade into the background, but not rain. Her hole filled jeans and over sized tee shirts enabled her to be the target of their teasing and violence.

No matter how quickly she tried to get to her next class, she was always caught by someone who wished to gain a laugh at her expense. Sometimes it meant that her books were knocked out her hands which she preferred to the pulling of her hair or knock in the back of the head.

Cecilia Bloomington was her biggest problem. The head cheerleader always walked the halls with her football playing boyfriend at her side and a large group behind them. The jocks were the biggest bullies of all and Rain thought that they were the closest thing to a gang they had in their small town.

She felt like she was doing a prison term and she actually made herself a calendar and counted down the days until her eighteenth birthday, the day she would be free from her father's rein and four months after that her graduation day would free her from the hell of high school. She thought about college. She had the grades to get a scholarship, but she was scared she would sentence herself to four more years of torture and hazing.

The only allies she had were her neighbors, but Ted and Cody were a part of the jock's crowd. Ted had gotten over his jealousy, thinking Randy would never return again, but he would not chance social suicide and Cody was just entering ninth grade and he only wanted to belong.

"Get out of the way, freak." Cecilia Bloomington past her so hard that Rain crashed into a trash can, dropped her books which were then kicked and slid far away from her by Cecilia's lackeys. They then laughed like cackling hyenas. It wasn't until after the bell had rung that she was finally able to collect her books and notebooks. In math class she was forced to turn in a ripped and footprint stained page of homework. As if being late hadn't been bad enough, the teacher decided to make an example of her and made her stand in front of the class while she went on and on about how important it was to turn in neat and clean homework assignments. Then she proceeded to toss the page back holing it with just two fingers and added another day of detention on top of the one she got for being late. She shot a look of disgust Cecilia's way. She was the one to blame after all, but that was mistake that she had never made the mistake of making before. After class and before the bus arrived Cecilia attacked her from behind, hitting her in the head with a thick history book. Everything went black just before Cecilia began to kick her.

She woke up in the emergency room completely alone with a concussion and two broken ribs. How could her day have been any worse?


	8. Chapter 8

Randy sat in the waiting room of the hospital staring into space while the doctor spoke to his step-grandparents who rarely knew him and his father. All he could think was how inappropriate it was for the doctor to tell them the news instead of him. He was all his father had besides the occasional woman, the last of who he had married recently.

And she was to blame. In the instant he hated women. It was a woman who had enticed his normal level headed father. If she hadn't he wouldn't have gotten married and left for a Vermont honeymoon and he wouldn't have been involved in a crash so horrific that the doctors were sure he had died instantly. Folded up like suitcase was how the paramedics had described his father's car as they passed him in the hall that day, but it wasn't their fault. They had no idea he was rushing in to see the man they had brought in a body bag. He wished the woman on the phone would have just told him his father was dead instead of giving him hope, only informing him that they had been involved in an accident.

His father had invited him to go along, but he had been so bitter about having a new stepmother who was less than ten years older than him. The entire month he had not felt alone, but at midnight that night he did.

The next day he would live the pain over and over again with every phone call he made to his relatives. His father's parents arrived that evening, flying in from their vacation in Rome or Paris or wherever they may have been at that moment. His grandmother immediately took control and Randy didn't complain. It was more than he could handle.

Two days. His best friend in the world was gone forever and he had to go to a funeral home to pick out a casket that couldn't even be open because his father had been mutilated. Flowers, his father didn't care for them, in fact he sneezed at almost every kind and now they were going to be all around him. His grandmother irritated him the most, walking around like an empress, taking inventory of everything in the condo and she acted too happy to suit Randy, but yet could put on fake grief stricken, sounding and looking so weak and so frail whenever someone would call or come by to pay their respects. He didn't know how he was going to put up with her on a day to day basis.

His mother showed up that night and of course his grandmother refused to let her stay at a hotel. Randy didn't want to see her, but he was thankful that she came alone and didn't bring the half brother and step brother that would annoy him at time when he didn't have the strength to be courteous.

"I brought you some soup sweetie." His mother came into his room without knocking. "I put in a coffee cup so you can just sip on it."

Randy just rolled over in his bed without a word. She left it on his night stand and then started to pick up the clothes he had thrown here and there since he'd gotten that phone call.

"Kyle wanted me to tell you he's sorry he couldn't be here for you, but Cody broke his leg and he's already missed so much school …"

Randy didn't care to hear about her perfect life, the one she gave him up for.

"I think he's scared to fly honestly." She laughed slightly hoping he would cheer up even if it was just for a moment. "You know, I think these clothes won't be hurt if they sit here a little longer. Why don't you and I go out? You must have a favorite restaurant around here."

Randy responded by pulling the blanket to his chin tightly.

"Okay. I'm not asking. I'm telling you. Get out of that bed and get dressed. You're going to get some food in your stomach and get out of this room."

"It's a little late to be my mother." He spat. "Just get out!"

"Oh, baby. You and your father were always close." She sat on the side of his bed and gently rubbed his back. "I can remember him dancing with you on his shoulders and you holding so tight. Sometimes you pulled his hair and it never bothered him. And you look so much like him and you act like him too." She continued to rub his back. "I loved that man." She sniffed back a tear. "I know it may be something you will never understand or get, but I did love him … and you."

"What do you know about my dad?"

"I knew that man as well as you, maybe even better."

"Sure."

"Randy, a part of your father will always be alive in you. He didn't want to go this early, but he did. You are the biggest part of his life and you can't let his death destroy you."

"I'm am destroyed. Damn. He just died. He's not even in the ground yet and you expect me to suck it up and move on. Why don't you just go home? You're so eager to get back to your life, so go! I know you're only here because you think you have to be."

She didn't take up for herself. She just left him alone and he was sure she was going home like he wanted and he was mad at her for proving to him that she didn't really want him. He had been right.

Later that night his stomach grumbled and he felt hollow inside and weak. He had cried all alone for so long that his eyes felt heavy and were swollen. He ventured out to the kitchen hoping a snack would help him feel better or at least strong enough to go to his father's funeral. He had to be there and he had to be strong enough to help carry him to his final resting place.

On his way downstairs he thought about the woman who had been with him. He hadn't given her a thought and didn't know anything about her burial plans. She was so beautiful and she had been sweet. She was a little on the shy side, but fun to be around once she warmed up to you. Randy had liked her and he had liked playing video games with her. Her parents had taken over her arrangements and Randy wished his family and hers had made their plans together. His father had been crazy about her so there was no doubt they were in love. In death they were separated and it wasn't right. Their lives together had been so short.

Randy began to think the entire ordeal was useless. Why did people find each other and fall in love when they would one day loose each other? It was inevitable one way or another, so what was the point?

There was nothing to eat in the house. He had pigged out on all the frozen snack foods he and his father had bought for him to eat while they were gone. That day was their shopping day and they usually went out to eat because grocery shopping wore them out and his father hated cooking after being surrounded by food in the grocery store.

The jingling of keys behind him made him whirl around.

"You know the only way your granny will buy groceries is if someone delivers it to the door." His mother laughed.

"Not that she'd cook if there were groceries." Randy laughed. It was something his father had said many times. It was no secret. His father's mother could not cook and not because she had tried and failed but because she refused to learn in the first place.

"Hungry?" His mother was sympathetic again. She tried so hard. Randy was too tired to continue punishing the woman and he let her put him in his jacket like he was a small child. She even tied his shoes for him then put her hands through his hair to make it more presentable.

She drove his father's jeep. Not asking for permission. Just taking it to where she wanted to go. His dad didn't drive it often saying it was cheaper to use public transportation. But Randy knew it was because the eighties model was his baby and he wanted it to last as long as possible.

"I can't believe he kept this thing." His mother went on. "You were conceived in this old jeep." She reminisced. "We used to do a lot of things in old Barney. A lot of things we weren't supposed to do." Randy stared at her as she wiped a tear from her eye. Her eyes were as red and swollen as his. "Did he ever tell you that this was my jeep?"

"Yours?"

"Ya. I spent a whole summer working as a cashier to pay for it when I was sixteen. Your father loved driving it so much and he was so sad when I went to trade it in."

"you wanted to trade this?"

"well, I didn't think this thing was safe enough to drive with a baby. But he was so sad that I didn't trade it. I rented a storage building and I hid it for six months. Until his birthday. By then I had it painted and I gave it to him as a gift."

It didn't make sense why his father had kept something that was obviously an intimate part of his life with his mom. Why had he loved it so much when he no longer loved this woman?

The answers would come the next day. Long after the drive through cheeseburgers had been digested and long after his father had been lowered into the ground. His will was read in the living room with everyone he was or had been close to there.

He had left half of everything to his new bride, but since she had died with him it was all Randy's. but the poor man had a lot of debt. Debt he surely thought he would be out of by the time he died. The condo was newly refinanced, so it would have to be sold. His belongings would be auctioned to pay for loans that he owned and his part of the business was left to his partners. But Randy was okay. He had a large savings fund that he would have access to when he was twenty-five that no one could take. His father had been smart in doing that. Randy knew he would take what he wanted of his father's before anyone could come in and put a price tag on it.

What surprised him the most was that his father left the jeep to his first wife along with a personal letter that she did not read in front of anyone? Whatever it was made her cry and run from the room. She didn't emerge at all that night. Randy decided to peek in on her and when he did he found her asleep, the letter lying beside her like she had read it over and over again.

Even though he knew it was wrong to read the letter, Randy had to know what his father had said.

_To my first love,_

_Jody, you know I still love you. I never stopped loving you and I don't think I will ever love another woman, not completely. Not like I love you. I never told you or anyone else that I came home. I guess it had been almost three years since I left. I had missed you so much and I wanted you back, but when I got to our home you were with a new man, playing in the yard with a little boy. You looked so happy and you deserved to be._

_I guess I was angry at you for moving on and I wanted to punish you so I kept Randy away from you. I wanted to hurt you, because I was hurt. I am so sorry. I shouldn't have done that. I left. I hurt you and I did this to our family._

_I never could admit to anyone that I was the one that introduced you to drugs. I made you take that first hit and we did them together for so long. I have to confess that I didn't quit when I said either. You were trying so hard and slipped up from time to time and acted so angry about that when truthfully, I was jealous because I couldn't stop. I never did stop. I hid it from our son all these years and I hope he never finds out because I don't want him to hate me like I know you should._

_You did it, Jody. You got clean and you rebuilt your life. I'm not surprised you were always a fighter._

_I got remarried finally, but when I go, I can't leave her the jeep. It was ours and it belongs to you. It's the only thing I had to remind me of you._

_Goodbye my sweet pearl,_

_I'll see you someday soon._


	9. Chapter 9

Rain was picked up from the hospital by the last person she expected. Grace. She came waltzing in wearing a pair of gold strappy heels and short cut off shorts with the strings hanging. She signed all the paperwork, gave them permission to treat even though she did not have that authority. The hospital staff really disappointed her. Not only did that have no clue that this woman was not even related to her, but they didn't find the bruises on her arms in the perfect shape of someone's fingers alarming. If that wasn't obvious abuse the large welts on her back should have made it clear. She just had to accept the fact that there was no one who could or would help her. They would only ignore and turn their heads.

Having a male doctor turned out to be another problem. Rain couldn't believe this woman was back in her life making up stories that never happened.

"You should have seen the way she was flirting with that doctor. He was so young and I think she liked taking her shirt off for him. If you don't do something about the way she goes on she'll be knocked up before too long." Grace went on to her father, knowing exactly what set him off. Rain was in so much pain already that she was defenseless when he raised his hand and knocked her to the floor. She was so tired of being called a whore when she had no idea what being that close to a man felt like.

Jody was gone that week. The woman was the only person she could talk to when things got rough. Of course she never told her how she was beaten for fear she or her husband would confront her father and make the situation worse. But it was nice to have someone to talk to about what she endured at school.

Rain looked at herself in the mirror of the glass gym that was fixed to its original state the week before. She didn't know why they decided to fix it since it had sat in ruin for months after the storm and no one in the neighbor's household used it. She pulled her hair out of her face and wished she found a spark of beauty in it somewhere. When she saw herself, she saw fat. Layers and layers of fat and she was tired of hearing her parents tell her just how chubby she was. She decided that was one thing she could change about herself and stepped on a treadmill. She started at a slow pace and began to do it every day. A month later she still didn't think she looked any better.

Jody still hadn't returned and she began to wonder if she would ever return and feared she had left for good. The gym became her refuge. She spent nights there when her parents partied and thought about the boy she had spent the night with so long before. She was fifteen now with three years left before she was free. On the wall she pinned the calendar she had made and crossed off the days just like she had seen inmates do on the few movies she had seen in her life.

Her ribs finally heeled allowing her to move a little faster on the treadmill, but she didn't have the nerve to try any of the other equipment. She was comfortable with walking.

"What are you doing here?"

Surprised and scared she turned towards the door. Randy stepped inside and he did not appear to be joking.

She started for the exit of what kind of person he really was.

"If you're going to work out, you should do it right." He snapped at her. "Get back on."

She was ready to stop and she continued on her path, but he stopped her. "Get on!"

A little frightened and a little intrigued she did as he asked. Part of her wanted to know more about him.

Randy's father had died and she learned that he had been a trainer and his son had picked up his ways. He spent days pushing her on every piece of equipment in the shack. He did not let up and he did not have a kind word for her. He seemed mad at every one and she wondered why he let her come around at all.

Some days she wanted to collapse. Her everyday life already took a toll on her and when life kept her from arriving at the shack for her daily work out Randy would be furious and yell at her through the entire routine.

"You keep looking at yourself in the mirror wanting to change but it won't happen if you don't do the work." He would yell. She decided that Randy was a mean person but she couldn't stop appreciating the body he had. The day were getting hotter and he would take off his shirt after soaking it with sweat and she would steal a glance, sometimes stare when his back was turned. He was perfect.

The girls in school had all noticed it as well, most were crazy about him from the day he entered the hallways. Randy didn't want anything to do with no one. Eventually he joined the football team, but he wasn't much of a team player except during games. He did not want to join their click and he did not want to roam the halls with them. He was a loner, a mystery that everyone wanted to solve. Even Cecilia was unable to make him a notch on her headboard and she tried constantly and even sent the word out that he was hers and no one else was to even think about getting with him.

Before spring break, she was almost stuck to his side like a tumor that irritated him. Rain tried not to laugh at the cheerleader when she saw him roll his eyes and go into his class, dismissing and embarrassing her.

Spring break brought a true break. Grace's mother became sick and for the first time in her life her father closed the shop because of Grace's constant arguing and fighting with him. She had never known him to give in for peace's sake so she knew there had to be some kind of financial gain involved for him or he wouldn't have gave in.

The next shock came after days of Grace bitching at her and whining about what an embarrassment she was and how no one in her family knew anything about Rain. She did not want her around her family and they left her behind asking Jody to keep an eye on her. The house had never been so quiet, but she wasn't exactly free to do as she wanted. They left her no money and did not buy any groceries for her to survive off of telling her it would help her lose a few pounds if she didn't have anything to pig out on while no one was watching. Still, there was lots of food she enjoyed that no one else did. She lived off of tuna and crackers or canned chicken that she made salad out of and it satisfied her more than any extravagant meal.

She spent every moment she could in the gym. The days were so hot and her clothes became soaked before she'd even done a quarter of Randy's workout program and it tired her quickly.

"Take it off." Randy ordered her when he saw how soaked with sweat she had become. She ignored him setting a fire in his eyes. He stormed towards her and jerked her oversized tee shirt up. She resisted. "Look, you'll be much cooler. I know you're wearing a sports bra underneath. It's no different than wearing a bathing suit." Finally, she stopped resisting, but was uncomfortable because she knew he could see the belly she didn't want him to see. "Relax. You're wearing a normal work out outfit." Her awkwardness always seemed irritate him and she didn't understand why he cared what she dressed like.

Finally, she pulled out the shorts her father had forbade her from wearing the summer before. Nothing that would make her look attractive was ever permitted, not that they flattered her in the first place. But it was just too hot during her work out and she desperately wanted her father to approve and stop berating her about her weight thinking that if she could eliminate one stress, she would be able to survive the rest.

Randy was already shirtless and covered in sweat when she arrived that day and while she worked out she could not keep her eyes off him. He was so defined from his shoulders to his legs. Sometimes she thought he was stealing glances at her, but she knew better.

"Go faster!" he was in one of his worst moods. "Move! Don't stop!" he kept yelling. "Keep your back straight!"

"Stop!" she screamed and pushed him away from her. The lunges and squats were killing her and she just couldn't do another. He stared at her, the muscles in his cheeks jumping and she thought he was going to strike her, but she stood up to him. Staring back and returning his fire. She had never had the backbone before, but she was tired of being pushed around by him and everyone else. She was past tired.

He came at her and she lost all the strength she had found in an instant. Yet, he didn't strike her as she had expected. Instead he grabbed her and kissed her passionately. Her trapped her against the wall and himself and slipped his tongue inside her mouth and began to swirl it gently. He was rough, but he didn't hurt her, his hands traveling down her arms and lifting her legs so he was holding her around his waist.

It amazed her how fast her tense body relaxed, his hands slipping into places no one had ever touched before. She was laying beneath him on the small bed, his manhood finding exactly what it wanted before her mind could clear. She cried out, experiencing a sharp pain, but he kept thrusting, covering her mouth with his own to cover her moans.

Soon, the pain subsided and she felt a wave of heat rise into her face. What he did to her brought a pleasure that she would never be able to explain. He seemed hungry and wild refusing to slow until he had finally reached his goal. When it was over he did not jump from her, instead, he remained, staring into her eyes and trying to catch his breath. It had all happened so fast, but what did it mean?


	10. Chapter 10

Randy stared at his ceiling. Rain was the first person he had personal contact with since his father had died. He was miserable and hated everything and everyone. Working out was the only refuge he had, clearing his mind and making him feel closer to the father he loved so much. Rain was an obstacle, one he really wanted to chase out of his life, but ordering and pushing her through her routines made him feel like he was with his dad while he was training one of his clients. Most days he pretended Rain was one of his father's clients and that he was hanging out with him at work as he had done most weekends.

The letter his father left behind for his mother was more than he wanted to believe. He had never once suspected his father was a user. He had always been normal and a great father and friend. He was happy, in great shape and full of energy, so how could he have been a drug addict?

He blamed his mother again and let her know by repeatedly calling her Jody. He knew his father too well. The note had to be bull, written only so Randy would not hate his mother when he was gone. His father had put the woman down for using. It made no sense to him and never would.

Jody went out of her way to try and change Randy's mind about her. She bought him things constantly, from his favorite foods to expensive gadgets. None of it interested him.

"Why can't I eat in my room? You let Randy do it every night." Ted complained more than once.

"Randy is having a tough time adjusting. He will follow the same rules as you as soon as he's feeling better." Jody would defend him.

"Ya sure. You always loved him more and he doesn't even love you back." Ted snapped and sometimes would point out that her blood did not run through his veins and that's why she was harder on him than Randy.

Randy's isolation didn't help matters with either of his brothers. They resented him and it showed the most at school. He wanted to be invisible, only joining the football team because he didn't want to disappoint his father who had made it clear how important the sport was to his future. Randy was very good and his father had dreams that he would go all the way.

Ted soon refused to let Randy fade into the background, saying if he wanted to be an outcast he would make sure he was treated like one. Of course no one did more than a little amount of teasing; knowing Randy would hold his own if they pushed him far enough. Randy enforced his dominance on the field during practice and it was easy to see that most his team mates were intimidated. Except for the small group that Ted and Cody hung with, the six pack believed they ran the school and everyone in it. They took from the smaller students, picking items from their lunch trays and bags if it interested them. It was the leader that Randy thought was the most dangerous, and Randy was his latest target after beating his bench press record.

But he didn't care for the most part and was merely aware of his surroundings. During lunch and before the first bell, Randy sat in a dark corner, a classroom door that was slightly recessed from the hall with a short brick wall on either side. Most of the doors were like that, but this one no one ever entered or exited. It ironically kiddy corner from Rains locker, the last one on the row where she would sit waiting for the bell to ring. He wondered why she wore the clothes she wore. They were so loose that they looked like they belonged to someone four times her size. She never wore make-up, even though he thought she didn't need it, he still found it odd that she didn't when most girls did. Even her hair hung loose with no effort at style. People laughed at her and some where cruel with their teasing. He snorted when the girls talked about Rain in front of him, usually initiated by Cecelia. He would laugh and shake his head because he'd seen more of Rain then they had and he knew she had a body that would make them all jealous.

He never mentioned the moment when he had taken rain in the glass shack and neither did she. She seemed to understand what it was about and never acted like he belonged to her. Although he never said or acted like it, she was the closest thing to a friend he had.

Things got worse when Ted ventured out to the shack during one stormy afternoon. Rain wanted to go home, the storm reminded her of the tornadoes of the night they had met, but Randy made her stay, partly to keep him company and partly because he too had repressed fears. He was certain if he let her leave she would be struck by lightning.

Randy was standing behind her with his hands on her abs trying to force her to keep her back straight when she did her lunges. He did everyone with her with his body nearly molded to hers. He loved to breath in the scent of her hair and he loved the way her body felt against his. That day he began to realize that he cared about her, but he couldn't admit it. Not to her or anyone else, then Ted walked in and his lip curled in anger.

"I guess you're a little whore after all." He spat causing Randy to cross the room in one step and push him out the door. He fell on his but in the wet mud puddle just outside the door.

The next day in school, Ted had revealed his secret to his friends. They teased him about Rain, but he said nothing to defend her or himself. He felt it was beneath him to drop to their level and leaned back against the bleachers. It was chilly that morning and he wished he could remember where he had left his hoodie. Then, as if she could read his mind, Rain came walking onto the field. She stepped up on the bleachers with an armful of books and her eyes on her feet.

His teammates and the cheerleaders laughed and pointed. They called her disgusting names. Rain dropped her head further making her long hair cover her face. All eyes were on him when she approached him.

"You left your jacket on the bus." Randy usually drove the car his mother bought for him, but the transmission had gone out the week before. He could have taken his dad's jeep but decided to ride the bus instead because he wanted to secretly keep an eye on Rain, because he'd heard some guy was hitting her with his books as he passed. Not from her of course, but from kids who laughed about it in the halls when they arrived. He wished she would ride with him but she always said no and would never tell him why. Actually, she still barely said anything, but he was thankful for every word she uttered.

"Look. She's so ugly." Cecelia and her friends talked loudly as Rain stood in front of him. "I bet she has lice."

"I smell fish." Her boyfriend, Dorian chimed in.

Rain turned to leave, her head even further bowed. He reached out and took her hand and pulled her to the spot beside him. He brushed the hair out of her face and lifted her chin. He stared into her eyes and then gently planted a soft kiss on her lips.

"Don't you ever look down." He told her and wiped a tear away from her eye. "And don't you listen to these assholes. Their nobodies."


	11. Chapter 11

Randy's kiss opened up a whole new world for Rain. It didn't make her life better; instead it made her an even bigger target. Cecelia's target. The head cheerleader's anger was evident to everyone around her; their eyes were on Cecelia when Randy kissed Rain. And Dorian was at her side. No longer had her boyfriend, the leader of six pack still hung on her every word, hoping for a chance to get back into her life. That included helping Cecilia get back at Rain for stealing Randy.

Soon another year passed and she turned 16 and marked off another year of prison sentence. The summer didn't bring any relief and when she arrived at school on the first day with him by her side it started everything all over again. It wasn't like Randy was by her side all the time. Of course Ted seemed to have a lot to say about her and Randy's relationship.

Eventually, things got so bad that the principle tried to step in and put an end to the feud. Even though Rain had never said anything to those girls or struck them in anyway, she was pulled into his office. She felt herself shake as she stood and listened to the man chastise them about their behavior. She was terrified while the others smirked.

When she got home that afternoon, her father was waiting on her with his belt in his hand. The principle had called and informed him of the trouble, tying her in as the instigator even though that wasn't the truth. Her father was drunk as usual and refused to listen to her. As he beat her with his hands and his belt until she was numb she found herself wishing she had a parent who would help her. Why couldn't' her father see what was happening and go to the school and put an end to it?

Randy didn't touch her again until spring break when her parents again took off for Grace's mom's home and left her behind. She had decided to spend the night watching movies that she usually wasn't allowed to watch. Even though her parents were an entire state away, she still found it hard to enjoy the movies without jumping every time she heard a noise.

Randy snuck in close to midnight. She screamed because she had realized she hadn't locked the garage door and she didn't know it was Randy until he spoke to her. They watched a romantic comedy together and it felt like a real date, or at least the closet Rain would ever know. After, when he was heading out the door, he kissed her and that kissed turned into much more.

Summer came and went and she and Randy fell into each other's embrace a few more times. She turned 17 and held her own private celebration. Jody had given her some clothes and her father and stepmother's drug use had gone to an all time high. They were so out of it most days that they never noticed what she wore. When her father finally did, he said nothing. Actually, he seemed happy that he didn't have to buy anything for her to wear to school that year. Not that he ever bought her much more than what Grace could pull out of the quarter bin at the thrift store.

She finally saw herself as attractive, but that was mostly Randy's opinion. But she knew how great he looked and knew he had to see something in her. But her new tighter clothes didn't help her with her school mates. Cecelia and her group were still her worst nightmare.

During gym, the day before Christmas break, her clothes were soaked in urine. her father noticed and whipped her for that when she came home in her gym clothes. He had accused her of not taking care of her things and did not see any other way that the girls could have taken her things unless she had not locked her locker. She had, but they had been sneaky and got the locker combination out of the teacher's desk.

They had cut her hair during class and he forced her to walk around with it uneven in the back. Some of the strands were cut above her shoulders while the rest hung to her waist. Of course her father had blamed her and accused her of sleeping during class.

Then she caught a virus and spent nearly three days vomiting. She was made to go to school and was cussed out every day for bringing the germs into the home. They told her she was dirty and wouldn't have gotten sick if she took care of herself properly.

Randy and Rain became closer despite everything. One day, he told her he loved her and she stayed away from the glass shack for nearly two weeks terrified and unable to respond. Eventually, Randy came looking for her. Her father met him at the door and shut it in his face when Randy asked for her. Her father then blamed her recent sickness of pregnancy and screamed at her for doing things with Randy that she shouldn't. Her father called her nastier names than the kids at school did. Randy had no idea that he had caused her to suffer yet another lashing when he came to the door, this time by long piece of weed eater wire. It cut into her skin and bled so badly that it came through her shirt nearly the entire weekend.

Finally, on the third week, her parents threw a barbeque and kicked Rain out of the house. She ran to the shack as fast as she could that night and collapsed on the bed. She couldn't remember the last time she had slept because Grace's meth use kept her up for days at a time which meant that she forced Rain to be up for days at a time. She spent all her nights scrubbing the floors on her hands and knees and anything else Grace saw fit to make her do.

She fell on the bed and covered herself with the thick comforter. It was so soft and smelled as if it had been freshly washed. She was hungry as well, but had been unable to sneak any of the party food, but it didn't matter, she just wanted to sleep. She felt so weak and so tired.

Randy was there before the sun rose the next morning. She couldn't look him in the eyes and tried to slip past him. She didn't know how to act around him. She didn't know what they were if anything and she feared more than anything that he would want to sleep with her again and she didn't want him to see the lashes.

"Don't run, Rain." He stopped her. "You've been avoiding me. I can't take it anymore." He hugged her from behind and looked at their image in the long mirror. He kissed her cheek and then played with her hair. "I can't believe those bitches cut your hair." He pulled her hair away from her neck and then the muscles on his cheek began to twitch like they always did when he was angry. His breathing became heavier and his steel blue eyes grew dark. He lifted her shirt slowly, then closed his eyes and looked away. "This is bullshit." He growled. He swallowed hard and tried to force himself to look at her wounds again.

Rain started to cry. She never wanted anyone to know. She fell to the ground and began sob uncontrollably and he dropped to his knees to hold her.


	12. Chapter 12

Randy could not stop brooding about the lashes on Rain's back. She wouldn't explain about them, but he had a feeling that this wasn't anything new in her life. He wanted to storm to her home and attack her father. The man was so large compared to his daughter and it angered him to no ends that he used his strength to terrorize his daughter.

He felt helpless. How could he help her? He was in his last year of school and he hated to think about what would happen to her the next year when she went through her senior year without him there to offer he a little protection. Of course he was only able to protect her from the guys who had made plenty of remarks about what they would do to Rain. He hoped it was only talk to get under his skin, but part him feared they would act on them especially since they had seen how attractive Rain really was.

Rain disappeared after he found her lashes. For nearly a month she did not come to school and he never saw her leave her make shift garage home. The more his imagination ran wild the sicker his stomach felt. It got so bad that he quit eating which upset his mother. He had begun to eat with his family after a year of isolating himself. His mom was a sweet person and he could not stop himself from liking her even though he still doubted his father's letter.

"What's up kiddo?" she came into his bedroom and caught him sitting in his window seat staring out the window. He watched Rain's yard half the night every night just hoping she would emerge. "I'm really worried." She had every reason to worry about him and he didn't push her away when she gently stroked his hairline. He knew he wore dark bags beneath his eyes from lack of sleep and his eyes stayed bloodshot.

"I'm okay." He lied, not taking his eyes off Rain's home.

"I don't think you are." His mother rarely insisted on anything with him unless she thought it was of great importance. He respected her and Kyle for trusting him to make his own decisions and only stepping in if he was going too far in the wrong path, which he rarely did. They sat him down at the table and talked to him like a grown up and listened to him without passing judgment. They seemed to only offer him advice in his situation and most the time he found it useful and followed it. But they didn't know he loved Rain. He didn't want the talk about that because Ted still had a thing for her and the whole family knew it.

That night they sat the entire family down to talk about Randy's recent depression.

"Are you on drugs, Randy?" Cody asked him with wide eyes. He had become close with his little brother over the last year and Cody had left the group and begun to stay by his big brother's side. Ted however was different. He was sociable at home, but at school he refused to leave the popular crowd. He seemed to need it and Randy believed he wasn't strong enough to take the bullying that would come with his departure like Cody could.

"No, I'm not on drugs." He said wearily.

"Boys, is something going on at school?"

"Rain hasn't been in a long time." Ted as usual tried to direct the attention on him.

"What? Why?" Jody was interested in the fact and immediately hugged her step son when he shrugged and appeared sad. "I will go talk to Grace tomorrow and see if she's okay. I hope she isn't sick."

Ted looked at Randy with a satisfied smirk, but Randy didn't care. He was happy that Ted had opened his mouth. Randy couldn't go see her and he feared his presence would end up hurting Rain, but Jody could go.

But she didn't have to go to her home because before their family meeting was completed, they were interrupted by a dominating knock on their door.

Rain's father stormed in before he was invited dragging his daughter behind. Grace walked in and leaned against the wall and scanned their room with her nose in the air as if what they had was beneath her.

"Where is he?" He stormed for Randy. "There he is."

"What's going on?" Kyle protectively stood in front of Randy, but Randy could only stare at the tear streaked face of Rain. He wanted to run to her, but her father kept a tight hold. All he could do was gaze into her watery eyes helplessly.

"I'll tell you what's going on. That little punk of yours knocked up my daughter!" he bellowed. The look on Rain's face confirmed it. Randy sat in the chair, stunned. He had always worn a condom, but the last time it had broken and he didn't tell her. He never wanted to make her worry.

"Randy?" Jody looked puzzled, "But Ted's always liked Rain."

"There's more than one?" The man roared, squeezing Rain's arm and jerking her forward so hard that she fell to the floor. "You slept with both of them!"

"NO!" Randy instantly took responsibility and went to her side. He shoved her father before he could latch onto her again. "I'm the only one. The baby's mine."

"You're gonna pay, kid." He growled. "She's not keeping it and you're going to pay to get rid of it."

"Get rid of it?" Randy looked to Rain for answers. She stared at the floor. She sobbed and refused to look at him.

"An abortion is kind of drastic. What if we adopt the baby?" Jody and Kyle were against abortion and were quick to try and save the poor fetus.

"Oh, ya that will work for you two, but it won't save my kid from embarrassment. And what about her graduation huh? What about her plans for life?"

"She can still go to school. Her life will go on…"

"Bullshit." he countered. "The decision's been made."

Kyle sighed. They realized there wasn't much more they could do but write a check. They gave him the amount he asked for even though Randy thought it was way more than what was actually needed.

He was sad, feeling like he had lost a part of himself. He wanted the child, but it was Rain's body and he couldn't ask her to give up her dreams.

He couldn't be mad at her about it. He only felt horrible that he couldn't be beside her while she was going through it.


	13. Chapter 13

Rain could already feel the baby inside of her and she cried every night. The loss of her child was more than she could bare and it was torture that she knew the exact date of its death. She did not if it was a boy or a girl, but she did know it was part of Randy. A special little part of both of them.

The day of the abortion came and she stayed in bed even after the alarm clock rang. She thought about running away. She was seventeen and could legally be on her own. She had not been allowed to return to school and she doubted she would be able to return even after the baby was gone.

As it turned out, her father had always planned on removing her from school as soon as she was old enough to quit without it causing him legal problems. He constantly told her what her new responsibilities were. She would now spend every day working in the garage. Doing whatever he told her to do while he drank and kicked back until it was time to paint.

Since they made her take an at home pregnancy test and it came out positive she had been locked up in her tiny room. Sometimes they gave her a normal meal; sometimes she was slipped a slice of bread under the door along with a dish small enough to slide under the door that contained a sip or two of water. She really was a prisoner and she felt so weak.

She was forced to hold her bowels until they allowed her to relieve herself which was only three times a day. It was horrible since the frequency of which she needed to go had increased drastically. Sometimes she could not hold it and she would position herself over the small trashcan they had given her to catch her morning sickness.

She often wished she had a window in her room so she could possibly see Randy. She missed him so much. He was the only person who had really shown her any kind of love. But she knew that was over. She could tell by the look on his face the night her father had confronted his family that he was not happy about killing the baby. He would hate her. His whole family would hate her.

Her father had asked for five thousand dollars even though the procedure was only a tenth of that. He had already blown it on drugs and drink.

"Give me the money." She heard Grace say outside of her door and she sat up on the side of the bed hoping that she would at least be allowed to eat a nice breakfast before.

"She's not going." Her father said.

"What?" Grace seemed confused. "I'm not raising a bastard baby."

"She made her bed and she can sleep in it. Besides, those people have money. They can afford to pay child support. Hell, we should get a good bit out of them."

That's what it was always about. Rain suddenly understood. The money would never be spent on her or the baby's well being. It was for her father's gain. The abortion money was for his own pocket. He never had plans to do away with the baby.

Rain was happy about that part, but she didn't know how she was going to take care of the baby. She wouldn't get paid working with her father, but she would work every minute of the day. She wouldn't have anyone to help her care for the child. She knew her father would make sure Randy and his family never got to see the baby or spend time with it and that wasn't right. He would do it just to be hateful, just to hurt them because he enjoyed hurting people. She had to get away. She would not let her child be treated like she was. Her father would not hurt her child.

"Get up." Her father demanded the next day and she was forced to go with Grace to the social services building where she was signed up for free money for food and another program that gave her vouchers to buy healthy food that she would need while pregnant like milk and eggs. She was signed up for free health care and she soon found out that it was not for her benefit but for the free lawyer that would help get a child support check started. Apparently, the state could make the father pay before the baby was born and of course her father was going to get every dime he could.

Her parents enjoyed the free food, spending nearly her entire allowance in a day and sometimes they sold it for half the amount in exchange for drugs or cash.

She was only allowed to leave her room for doctor appointments, which she had to go to in order to keep some of the benefits, which aggravated her father because it was something he could not control.

Rain realized that even at eighteen she may not be able to leave her parents home. They would never let her out of their site long enough and she had heard them talking about having her considered mentally incompetent so they could get a disability check from her. It was hopeless and she became very depressed as she the hope was sucked out of her life.

Another month passed and the weather turned cold. The garage doors were closed all the time and her father made her come out and work. The dust made her cough and she worried that it was harming the baby girl inside of her. She thought about the ultrasound picture she was given at her last doctor's appointment. She was almost five months and she began to get excited about holding her child. She talked to her all the time and the child became her best friend even though she had not seen her yet.

With the work came the beatings again. She couldn't do anything right in her father's eyes, but her child would not be harmed. It amazed her how instinctively she protected her belly during the lashings. Mostly it was her face that took the most abuse now that no one saw her.

One day, the large gas powered heater started a fire. Her father had fallen asleep nearby and had dropped his liquor bottle. It shattered and the small flame ignited it. Rain ran outside immediately with more care for the baby than anything else.

Randy arrived before the firefighters did and he ran inside with a fire extinguisher. Her father was inside trying to put out the fire with a tire cover. It was put out quickly and they all came outside coughing and gagging because of the smoke.

"Are you alright?" Randy was at her side, checking her body for burns, then his eyes dropped to her belly. "You're still pregnant?" Instantly he was angry.

"Randy, go in the house." His stepfather told him.

"No." he said staying by his parent's side. "I'm 18 Kyle and this is my business."

"Fine. You got court papers last week for child support."

"And no one told me?"

"Sweetie, believe me, I was going to tell you this weekend. I wanted to consult a lawyer first and make sure there really was a baby."

They all glared at her. They blamed her for deceiving them.

"We are fighting for custody, Rain."


	14. Chapter 14

thanks so much for the reviews everyone and for the favorites and follows. :)

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Randy had a lot to process. He could not understand why Rain would lie to him, but it suddenly made sense why she had hidden herself away for so long. Graduation came and went and he only had a month or so to go before he would become a father. He got a job and started buying items a baby would need.

"Randy, are you sure this is what you want?" he was set down with his mom and Kyle alone one night after he had brought in a crib. They had planned to adopt his child and they wanted to raise it as his younger sibling. "Don't you have any plans for college?"

He didn't. At that moment the only thing he wanted was his child. He wanted to be a dad and looked forward to it, but it was a far different dream than he had when he had first learned about Rain's pregnancy. At that time he had daydreamed about living with her and the baby as a happy little family. Young but happier than people twice their age. He knew it was an impossible dream since the baby was going to be destroyed, but still he indulged himself.

Now, he was going to be a single father. He was excited and scared at the same time.

"I don't want this child calling me its brother." He was stubborn about that point. "I'm the one who is to blame. It's my responsibility and I refuse to run from it."

"Well, you're a good man, Randy. We'll support you any way we can." Kyle was the first to give in and the one who held the most contempt for Rain. "I do think it would be best if Rain wasn't in the child's life."

"Maybe." But he wasn't sure. Rain turned out to be so different than what he thought she was. He never would have guessed she would be the type to use him for money. "I know you guys think that she set this entire up, but I can't let you keep thinking that. I'm more to blame for her getting pregnant than she is. I wore a condom and I knew it broke before it was over, but I didn't want to stop and I didn't want to pull out. Rain didn't know about that and she still doesn't know that I knew."

"Randy, that was really irresponsible." His mom chastised.

"I know, but I loved her." She patted his hand sympathetically. "Sometimes I think she's doing this because she's angry with me. I keep thinking about how she never ever kissed me first. She never did anything that hinted that she wanted to be romantic with me…"

"Are you trying to tell us that you raped that girl?" Kyle asked with both awe and rage.

"No—I mean I don't know maybe she was scared to say no. She's so quiet and she's scared of everything. I try to remember every detail, but each time I'm afraid that I may have intimated her. Damn, why didn't I realize that at the time?"

"I guess the only way you're going to know for sure is to talk to her and ask her." His mom was always the one who kept her cool. She was always the rational one who could find the positive in every situation. Randy admired her for that and wished he was more like her. Perhaps part of him was, but he still had his father's suspicious outlook.

"How? Her father won't let me within a foot of her."

"Oh, Geeze, I'm so sick of this guy's whining." Ted entered the kitchen and poured himself a drink. "Just go knock on the fricking door and demand to talk to her."

"Stay out of it, Ted." Randy wearily spat. "It's complicated."

"I know it's complicated. I actually want to thank you."

"For what?"

"Because if you didn't steal her it would be me going through all this crap."

"Shut up."

"And you're sitting there wondering if you raped her?" Ted laughed hatefully. "Of course you did. Rain's not the type to just lie down. Please. You're a jerk."

"Shut up!"

"That's enough! Ted don't you have homework to do?" Kyle interrupted. "Randy, let's go."

"Where?"

"I want answers now. I sure as hell don't want to be surprised in court. Actually, Randy I'm done playing games with you."

"Kyle," his mother tried to head off his temper.

"No, Jody, we've held back enough with this kid." He pointed at Randy and towered over him. "You've sulked and hated the world for a year and a half. You tortured your poor mother and we gave you all the space you needed. Now, you're finally coming around, we find out you knocked up the girl next door! We should have blessed you out and stripped you of that car and everything in your room, but we supported you! And now you tell us that you forced yourself on her?"

"I don't know if I did." Randy cowered like a child, disgusted with himself and disgusted with the way he'd hurt those he loved.

"Bullshit, kid. You know. Did you or didn't you!"

"I—I"

"It's yes or no. There is no I don't know here."

"Yes." He held his head in his hands. He hadn't believed he had committed a crime with Rain until after the court papers arrived. Now that she wouldn't speak to him he knew she wasn't completely willing and he hated himself for it.

"Shit! This is all we need." Kyle continued to rage.

"Wait a minute. Just calm down."

"How can I calm down? Did you hear what our son just said?"

Randy raised his head. Kyle claimed him as his son and it shocked him especially after what he had just admitted.

"Rain's always felt comfortable talking to me. I'm going over there."

"I'm going too." Randy stood and followed his mother out of the door. Kyle stayed behind, too infuriated to deal with the situation any more.

"Randy, I want you to relax and be as polite as you can. I know the man is difficult to have a conversation with."

"He won't even let you say hi." Randy mumbled. They got to Rain's and found the garage door open. Her father was inside running a loud sander, so they waited until they were seen.

"What do you want?" he spat and took a long drink out of a whiskey bottle.

"We want to talk to Rain. I think we can resolve a lot between us. We don't need to go to court in some big feud. Let's just come to an agreement." Jody tried to reason. The man laughed at her.

"Get the hell off my property."

"He's the father. He has rights."  
"I'm not letting that little jerk anywhere near my daughter."

"I don't care what you say." Randy interrupted the parents. "I'm 18. Rain's nearly 18. This is between me and her and that's it. We are the parents of that child." He headed to the only other door in the room and bolted through it. "Rain!" he called scanning the very small office. He took quick strides across the room and entered another door. He was taken aback by the plywood floors and unpainted sheetrock. The room was dusty from exposed sheetrock mud and it smelled like liquor and cigarettes. "Rain!"

Grace pulled back a curtain and revealed a bathroom with only a toilet and sink. She stepped out and waved her long talons at him.

"She's not here." She said, but Randy didn't buy it. There was one more door and he went to it and found no handle. Only duel deadbolts.

"Where's the key?" he demanded. "Rain! Unlock the door." He didn't get a response and wondered why she locked herself inside. He wondered why there was no handle on the door. Why were there only key holes on the outside of her door. "Rain! … Open this door, Grace."

"I don't have a key." She smirked. "Get out of my house."

"My gosh, look at this place." His mother held a hand over her nose and scanned the discarded fast food items with half eaten food beginning to mold scattered all over the small home.

"I'm going to call the cops." Grace threatened and her mate entered and stormed towards Randy.

"Call the cops!" Jody dared. "We're not leaving until we know that girl is okay."

"She's not your concern!" the large man growled.

"She's carrying my child. She is my concern until the day she gives birth!" Randy argued. He easily maneuvered out of the man's grasp and exited the building. His temper was out of control and he didn't know who he was anymore. He didn't feel like himself, but a mad man raging not knowing if he was angry with Rain for refusing to see him or was he angry because something else was going on?"

He returned with an axe from his garage.

"Randy, what are you doing?" his mother tried to reason. "I've already called the cops. Just wait." Rain's father stood between him and the door.

"Move!" he raised the axe high above his head; intent on striking rather the man stepped out of the way or not. He slung it and the man slid to the side. He yelled obscenities while Randy split the door over and over until he finally cut a hole large enough to fit his hand in. He dropped the axe and reached inside to unlock the door. He found it too had to handles or a key in which to unlock it. "You've got her locked in you son of a bitch!" he screamed. He again picked up the axe and swung it harder. Rain's silence worried him. He heard the cops show up and enter. They told him to stop, but he refused until he had completely destroyed the wooden target.

He climbed inside the large hole and found it pitch black. He felt the walls for a switch and found none. He felt his way until he bumped into what he thought was a mattress on the floor. His eyes adjusted and he saw a body curled up in a ball.

"Rain?" he whispered, dropped to his knees beside her and touched her face. "Baby?"

She opened her eyes after he gently shook her.

"Randy?" her voice sounded hoarse and she appeared weak. Randy picked her up in his arms and carried her out of the room and laid her on the sofa. She weakly stared at him as if she believed she was dreaming. He didn't notice the cops talking to Rain's parents behind him and he had no clue what they were saying. Then he was jerked away from Rain and his mother yelled her objections. Randy was handcuffed and led to a waiting police cruiser.

"They're starving her!" he tried to get them to understand, but they wouldn't. "They had her locked up."

"Her parents said she refuses to come out of her room. They said she refuses to eat."

"There's no handles on the door!"

"She had the key." They argued. "Son, you were out of line and the girl's parents are going to file a restraining order against you tonight."

Randy spent the night in jail. Rain wasn't 18 and wasn't considering an adult, but even if she was she wasn't in any condition to talk for herself.

Soon, the court date arrived and Randy waited at the court house long before it was scheduled. He had to see her. He hadn't slept himself. He spent his nights staring out the window, hoping she was okay. She arrived only ten minutes from their appointment. Jody had made him leave the outside steps and come to the waiting room just outside the doors. Their lawyer was explaining what was going to happen, but he only half listened.

They weren't going in to a normal court room like he had envisioned, but were going to be taken into a small conference room where the judge would hear both sides. Family court seemed much different than a criminal trial, but he felt like his love was what was being questioned.

Rain stood between both her parents just outside the conference room. Randy walked up to them.

"Rain, can we talk for just minute before …"

"You can't be near her. We have a restraining order." Her father reminded him. Two court guards approached him and pulled him away.

"Rain, please." He begged snatching her hand before they drug him too far. She squeezed his hand just as the judge opened the door to see what the commotion was. They held each other's hand until they were pried apart.

"I want to talk to the young lady first." The judge said and Rain stepped forward with her parents. "Alone."


	15. Chapter 15

Words didn't have to express how much Rain was going to pay for entering the room alone with the judge; her father's wide eyed fury explained it clearly. But she did as she was told as she always did.

"Have a seat." The judge was a friendly, grey haired old man. He gave her a smile and waited for her to sit before he did so himself. She eyed the box of donuts on the corner of his desk. They smelled fresh and steam rose off of them and she imagined they hadn't been long out of the oven or maybe they were recently micro waved, either way they would feel great in her empty stomach.

"I was about to eat my breakfast." The judge took a cup out of his drawer and a pint of milk out of a paper bag. He poured some in a cup and then took a donut out and placed it on a napkin. "My wife thinks I'm eating bran muffins, but I think you can keep my secret." He winked and slid the donut across the desk and then gave her the cup. She smiled her gratitude and bit into the treat. She took great pains to control herself so she wouldn't appear starved. "Well, that's a good sign. The father's family seems to think you haven't been eating."

Rain shook her head and cast her eyes to her lap while slowly eating the donut. She was scared to say anything even though the thought of spewing everything in hopes that the man could offer help, but she didn't because if she had to return home she would pay dearly for any trouble it might bring to her parents.

"Rain, I can't understand what's going on unless you tell me," He urged, but she could hear her father outside the door and then it opened.

"Listen, my daughter doesn't speak much – I should be in there to speak for her."

"Hmmm—if she isn't capable of speaking then I'm guessing a good bit of the decisions have been made for her. Out please."

Rain felt her heart stop beating. There she was holding another donut in her hand and her father had seen. She wasn't allowed to eat anything sweet. Lately, her diet consisted of a perfectly measured cup of corn flakes and small glass of milk that she had to use mostly on it, leaving her only a sip to drink.

"Child, there are a lot of people telling me what is best for you and what you want. I would really like to hear it from you."

She started to feel the donut coming back up in her throat. She tried to hold it down as best as she could but she still felt it. She covered her mouth and the judge sympathetically helped her to the trash can. She felt like vomiting but after a moment of calming her nerves she managed to avoid it.

She sat back down and the older man gave her more milk.

"It's kind of hot in this room. These old buildings are terrible. It's either too hot or too cold. Why don't you take off your jacket." It was an unusually warm day, but she had worn the jacket Randy had given her anyway to cover the bruises on her arms. She shook her head even though the warmth was making hard for her to remain comfortable. The judge sighed as if he had given up and picked up his phone and hit a button. "Send in the father." A moment later the door opened and her father took a step in and she knew her chance was blown. "No, not you, the boy." The judge corrected and her father's eyes could have shot fire at her. She began to shake. Randy came in and sat down next to her. He acted like he wanted to take her hand, but he refrained.

"I remind you, kid that this doesn't make the restraining order go away."

"Yes, sir," Randy answered and hung his head.

"Now, will somebody please tell me something? I don't want your parent's point of view. You two were alone when you created this child and you two alone have to be the ones to decide about her future."

"Her?" Randy looked up. It was the first piece of information he had been given about the child. Rain had wanted to tell him so much, but never could.

"Randy," with her eyes on her lap, Rain's whisper was barely auditable. "I want you to take our daughter. I want her to stay with you." She choked back her sobs. It was the hardest words she ever had to say for it meant she would only get to watch her baby grow from a distance. "I don't want her to live like I do." She let the tears fall freely as both men stared with their mouths dropped. "I only ask that if you I should run into you somewhere one day – that you don't keep her from talking to me."

"I would never do that," Randy, ignoring the restraining order and what the possible reprimands from the judge, dropped to his knees and took both her hands in his. "I could never do that."

"I guess there's no need for a formal argument from lawyers here. Step outside."

Randy reluctantly pulled away from her and they left and waited. An hour passed before they were all called back into the small room. Rain felt like passing out because of how crowded it was standing in the small room with so many people.

"I've talked to both the parents of the fetus." The judge began and instantly both lawyers tried to talk at once. The judge held up his hand. "I'm not listening to anyone's well designed speeches today. I've made my decision or let's say my resolution for the well being of the child. I've read over all the paperwork mumbo jumbo you filed. But I'm going to postpone the custody decision for one year."

"One year?" Jody was stunned by the judge's answer as was everyone in the room.

"Yes. One year. In a year, you can come back and then I will decide who gets the child permanently."

"But what about between now and then. The baby's coming soon?" Jody asked.

"The baby will be with both parents." Everyone was silent. Rain wondered how that was going to be possible.

"When I was your age, kids were forced to get married when in this situation. Things sure have changed." The judge mused. "Sometimes that arrangement worked, sometimes it didn't, but at least they tried." He looked stern and less like the kind judge she had first met. "I guess someone should have warned you that I'm not a judge who always does things by the book. There are a lot of grey areas in family law and a lot more I find in this case in particular. I think the parents have taken over and pushed these kids to feel one way or the other. I don't know. But I'm going to end all of that. I am ordering a shot gun wedding you could say." He laughed. "It is court ordered that these two teens will marry before the birth of the baby and will reside under the same roof for no less than one year. At that time you will return to my office for a divorce hearing."

"This makes no sense." Kyle shook his head back and forth. "Why make them marry only to divorce them in a year."

"They may not get divorced. We'll see in a year. Oh and one more thing. ANYONE and I do mean anyone who tries to cause a conflict of this marriage having the best chance, I will hold them in contempt and it will result in jail time and a fine."

"My daughter is not yet 18. She is not old enough to sign the marriage license." Her father smirked thinking he had found a loop hole. "And there is a restraining order …"

"Then I suggest you sign it and I dissolved the restraining order. My decision is final." And the gravel landed on the table with a thud.

They left the room and because of Jody's suggestion they went straight to the second floor and the marriage license was filed. No one spoke. Everyone was in disbelief of the judge's decision. It definitely was the last thing they expected.

"I guess the sooner the better." Kyle said outside. "We should set a date. Our backyard I guess. We don't believe in court house weddings."

"What's it matter. It's only temporary marriage. I'm not paying for some fancy shin dig."

"You don't have to. It will be small and we'll handle it." Jody offered.

Randy came towards her but Grace dragged her to the parked car. She desperately wanted to know what he thought about the judge's decision. When her father joined them, they both began to scream at her. They blamed her for the judge's ruling and wanted to know exactly what she had said behind the closed doors. They believed that she and Randy had orchestrated the entire thing.

She barely made it inside the garage before her father had removed his belt and began to strike her. She curled up in a ball and protected her baby as best she could, but the hard licks stung and she felt the welts on her back and legs until a strong blow to the head knocked her unconscious.

She woke up lying in the same spot she had fallen and it was painful to rise, but she managed it and ventured inside. Her parents were eating dinner from KFC and barely acknowledged her.

She went straight to her room without trying to ask if she could eat. It would probably only give her another lashing anyway.

A week passed and she wasn't able to talk to Randy who she had heard outside her now metal door in her living room. She wasn't allowed to make plans and they told him she didn't want to see him every time.

"I've had enough of this shit." He bellowed after Randy had left on the eighth day of him coming over. He jerked open her bedroom door. "You're not marrying that boy." He informed her.

"And how are you going to get by the judge's order?" Grace reminded him.

"That's not our problem. It's hers. Jail would do her some good." He jerked her up by her arm and pushed her out of the house. "You're going to him right now and you're going to tell him it's over. You're going to tell him you don't want to marry him. Do you understand?" His threats were in his eyes as always and she had no choice for fear that he would finally kill her this time and even though that would be a relief for her, her child had a chance at a good life with Randy.


	16. Chapter 16

"Ugh, this is so frustrating!" Randy stormed into the living room and fell onto the couch. Jody had everything planned out and even though it was an arranged marriage of sorts Randy was a little excited about the day. Earlier that day he had gone to the mall with Ted and Cody, who were ironically becoming his closest friends, even Ted who had been relentless in his hatred, had come to like his step brother.

Next door to the shoe store where they stopped to get Cody his new shoes for basketball season, there was a jewelry store. Randy wandered inside and browsed. He thought about Rain and how sad she had always been since the day he had met her. He remembered the few times he had seen her smile and wanted that again. He'd thought about how many times, even before she was pregnant, but nothing worked.

Then he saw the ring. A gorgeous heart shaped diamond ring that slipped into a diamond studded wedding band. There was a man's band that matched, but all he wanted was to slip that one Rain's finger and see her face light up with surprise and then she would smile when she realized that her truly loved her and that he didn't feel like he was being forced to do anything. He pulled out the band card to his inheritance account that he had never used once and paid nearly five thousand dollars for the gift that still didn't express his heart enough in his opinion, but it was a start.

"What did you buy?" Ted asked when they met up outside the stores.

"Just something for Rain."

"Buying her love? It might work." He laughed and even Randy found it a little funny considering the recent months. Ever since he'd found out it he was going to be a dad it he had fought about money with Rain's family. He couldn't wait until they were married and he could sit down and talk to her about what it was all really about. He just hoped the forced marriage didn't pound another nail in the coffin; destroying what may have been there and making her hate him forever.

"I hope so."

"Well, if it doesn't work, maybe it can buy you peace for the next year."

"This is really crazy isn't it Ted?"

"Nope, I think it will be good for your daughter."

"I can't believe you of all people are saying that to me." Randy laughed and Ted shrugged.

"I'm jealous, or I was. I guess maybe part of me still is. She chose you. What can I do?"

"Did she choose me, Ted? Did she? Because I'm doubtful."

"I hated you because of the way she looked at you." Ted admitted. "She smiled. She talked to you. She never did that for me."

"I'm sorry, Ted. I didn't go after her to intentionally hurt you. Actually, it just happened. I wasn't looking for a girl – I didn't want one."

"Rain has that effect." Ted laughed. "But, I've always felt that she's hiding something."

"I know." Randy thought about the lashes on her back he had seen. "She'll be safe soon."

When he returned home, Rain and her father was sitting at the kitchen table. He smiled the moment he saw her, but she wouldn't look him in the eye.

"Hey." He swallowed hard. The look on her face wasn't happy.

"Tell him," her father growled in her ear. The man had meant it to be a whisper, but his drunken voice carried.

"I—I"

"Rain, what's going on?" Randy tried to sit close and touched her hand. She allowed him to for a moment and then slid it away and her eyes kept darting to her father.

"Randy – I" She was shaking.

"Can we have a minute alone?" Irritated with their parents hovering at all times, he desperately wanted to get her alone so she would talk more comfortably.

"What she has to say she can say in front of everyone," he could tell her father was the controlling type. He had to have a say in the situation.

"They need to talk. You two can step into the living room." Jody tried.

"No." her father forbade it.  
"It's not like we're not right here. If you're worried he's going to hurt her in some way, he won't. Damn, you can see her from here." With Kyle's words the young couple exited the kitchen and stood in the living room which wasn't much privacy since the rooms joined, but it was slightly better.

"Rain, what's wrong?"

Her eyes kept looking to her father.

"I don't want to marry you." She choked out.

"What?" Randy took a step back. "Are you serious? You heard what the judge said. We don't really have a choice here Rain." Again she glanced at her father.

"I can't – I'm not getting married."

"I can't believe this. You would rather go to jail then be my wife!" his confusion turned to anger and it was all directed at her. "That's great, Rain. We'll I'm not going to jail. I'm going to be there Saturday especially since my mother invited the judge."

Rain broke down and sobbed hysterically as Randy raged. He yelled at her and told her how selfish he thought she was.

"I guess it was always about the money, huh? I must be the stupidest man alive to think you had any feelings for me! What do you want? Huh? You want money? How much, Rain? Tell me! How much will it take to buy my daughter?" he tore his wallet from his back pocket, plucked out an entire month's salary and threw it at her. "Is that enough? Is it? Is that enough for you to sign over custody? Just give me a number since I know you don't love me at all now."

He continued to rant and all Rain could do was stand there and cry hysterically. Her father just watched and took no move to pull her from the situation. Randy just couldn't understand. Was he so terrible that she really would sit in a jail cell instead of marrying him? Suddenly, he couldn't find a kind word to say to her. She had put him through so much and he remembered worrying about her being locked away. Then he remembered how they said the key to the door was on her night stand and that it was her choice to stay locked in the room. She was starving herself purposely and he believed that she was trying to kill his child and he hated more than anything that she didn't feel for him like he did for her and he felt like a fool. In that one moment he saw her for what she truly was. She had played him. She had never wanted him or the baby. She belonged in jail.


	17. Chapter 17

It didn't take long for Randy's family to inform the judge of her refusal to follow his orders and before the wedding even took place a police officer came to her door to collect her. She was scared as she thought about what she was facing, but she didn't end up in jail. Because she was still under 18 she was taken to a girl's reform school and was forced to room with three girls who had done far more than she had.

The judge apparently wanted to make an example and show people her age that the court's decision wasn't to be taken lightly. The girls were not nice to her, but the bunk was soft and she was able to eat three meals a day. She laughed during the next three days about how she was treated better in a prison like situation than she had been at home. However she was still stuck there until she was 18 and her child would be taken from her the moment she was born.

She took a lot of teasing and she was made to work hard in the dining area even in her very pregnant condition. She thought about the world outside and how much she really wished she could do. And what would she do when she was released? She had nowhere to go but back to her father's and even as an adult she would have a hard time getting out on her own with no support. She needed a job to have money to leave his home, but he would never allow that. He wouldn't drive her back and forth and there was nothing close enough to walk to where she lived. Her future was lost before it began. She thought herself stupid to have thought that she would be free at the age of 18.

The nights were cold in the home and the larger of her room mates stole the thin blanket she was issued and she was helpless to fight for it, but that night as she laid awake she found herself angry at herself and the way she let her father control her life. She hated the fear inside of her. Why did she follow the commandment that said to obey her parents? She gave the man respect and he did nothing but steer her in the wrong direction. The man had made her steal from stores when she was little and the man showed her no love or support. She began to hate him. Her life was a mess because of him. What was wrong with her laughing or smiling? What was so wrong with her being happy? She wasn't a bad kid. She never was.

The morning of the wedding came and she had been in the home for a week to the day. She looked out the window before the sun rose and she wondered if Randy would really attend it. Would they really let the guest they invited show up knowing he was going to be stood up? But Randy seemed like the type that would go to extremes to make a point. She didn't like the idea of being forced into a marriage, but that was better than her other options and she did love Randy. His anger hurt her more than anything else in her life had.

That afternoon she was pulled away from her kitchen clean up duties and taken to a small room where Jody was sitting. She didn't offer her a smile as she usually did and Rain sat down and looked at her lap.

"Rain, I don't know what's been going on lately, but is this really what you want for the next six months of your life?"

Rain didn't give an answer. She knew what her father wanted and she felt trapped.

"I came here because my son could go to jail for disobeying the judge and where will the baby be then, Rain? They may not let any of the grandparents have her right away. I'm begging you to please think about your child and I want you think about Randy. Are you really going to let him be punished for something he has no control of?"

Rain hated that Jody thought she didn't care about the baby or Randy. She cared more than anyone would ever know because she just couldn't talk to anyone about what was really going on.

"Rain, it's just for a year then you can go your own way. You can leave this place right now with me. You can go to school, work, whatever you want."

Rain thought about how angry her father was going to be and thought about what he might do to her if she took Jody's proposition. Then she thought about where she was and how it was her father who had placed her there. She gave into her hate for the man and decided to break every moral guideline she had lived by and she defied him for the first time in her life. She nodded and Jody made the arrangements to get her released.

She didn't see Randy when she got to his home and her father seemed to have left town because Jody said she hadn't seen his car in the drive in two days. But Rain knew she didn't need her father to be there to get married because he had already signed the license. She was stepping towards the rest of her life with strength that she had never had before. Maybe it was the rage inside of her that fueled her defiance, but she knew she didn't have a chance to survive if she didn't take those steps.

Hadn't she always done what she was told? Hadn't she been respectful? In return she received beatings. In return she was denied everything including her basic human rights. In return they had stolen her childhood, her diploma and her confidence. But they would not steal her child. Her daughter needed her and for that reason alone, she had to break away from her ties with blood family.

She felt hidden away in the attic room of her neighbor's home. She couldn't see the back yard because the large window faced the front of the house, but she did see people, none she had met, parking on the front yard and along the road. They all had to be Randy's family and friends. Some kids about her age came with their parents. The girls wore nice sundresses and heels. Their hair was styled plainly, but stylish. She sighed and went to the bed and sat down. She stared at herself in the free standing oval mirror. She wouldn't be the most beautiful woman at her own wedding. She felt embarrassed for herself and for Randy. How obvious it would be to all his family and friends that he was only marrying her because she was pregnant and because the court was making him.

She was mad at the judge for making such an outlandish ruling. It was creative, but unorthodox. She wondered what he thought would come of it.

She went and took a shower. It wouldn't help but at least she would be clean. She would be forced to wear the reform school uniform because there was no way for her to get to the dress she had worn to her grandmother's funeral with her father gone, but it probably wouldn't fit over the baby bump anyway.

She brushed her wet hair. It had grown a good bit, but it was still very uneven from Cecelia's haircut. She wasn't as pale as she had been the week before and she didn't feel as weak because she had been able to eat, but she still thought herself ugly. How had she got pregnant in the first place? Randy was so gorgeous. It didn't make sense.

"Good, you already showered." Jody entered the room and brought her a sandwich. "I thought you might want to eat before."

"Thank you." She whispered and sat on the bed and ate the food. It tasted good and it didn't take her long to devour it. The baby inside her kicked seeming to enjoy the extra nutrition as well.

"This probably isn't the best thing for you to drink, but it's the only thing cold." Jody laughed slightly when Rain took a big gulp of the soda and then looked at the bottle guiltily. "I don't think it's going to hurt anything. I drank way too many when I was pregnant. Um – Ted said he would walk you down the aisle since your father's not here."

Rain nodded. How ironic it was that Ted would give her away to his brother. She stared at herself in the mirror again and sighed. There wasn't anything more she could do.

"Thank you for doing this." Jody told her. Rain could have told her the entire story, but she didn't want anyone's pity. She could have told everyone how her father had forced her to turn down the marriage, but she what good would it do? She was to blame as well, maybe more for everything in her life. She had a mind. She had thoughts and she had free will that she never practiced. She had made the choice to stay quiet just because she was scared of a beating that came anyway.

"Mom?" After a slight series of knocks, Cody peeked his head in.

"Oh, good." Jody seemed excited and went to the door and took a garment bag from him. "Will you get my pink box out of the bathroom for me, sweetie."

"Sure. Hi Rain." Cody smiled weakly, but he didn't seem very happy that she was there. Jody brought the bag to the bed and unzipped it.

"I bought this for you a couple weeks ago. I saw it online and I fell in love with it. I wanted you to try it on before, but we will work with what we have." Jody brightened some when she lifted out a white dress made in a very light material. It looked like something an angel would wear to Rain.

Cody returned with the box and he sat down on the bed. Rain felt awkward with him in the room, but she soon found out his purpose.

"Cody is great at cutting hair. I thought you might want to even it out. But it's up to you."

"Yes." Rain smiled before she could stop herself. She was starting to feel excited about the wedding. She had a pretty dress and her hair was going to be fixed.

"Ya, don't tell anyone." Cody seemed to want his talent hidden. He looked at her uneven hair. "It's going to be short."

"Just do whatever you want to it." She said without much hope that her hair could be instantly made into a model's hair.

"You shouldn't have said that." Jody's eyes grew wide as her youngest son left the room. "You might regret it." But Rain was only glad it wouldn't look chopped up anymore. It would be an improvement. She was ready to accept any look until Cody returned with a box in his hand that put a little fear in her.

Nearly an hour and a half later, after Jody had applied some make-up on her face and Cody had finished styling her hair, she slipped into the dress and when she looked in the mirror she didn't recognize herself. Her dress was ankle length and the straps tied around her neck and its excess hung nearly as long as the dress and it was draped in the front. It covered the only scar she had left from the lashing and flowed from her waist. It wasn't a fancy gown with yards of train. It was simple, light and stunning.

Her make-up transformed her, making her blue eyes stand out with its three blended shades, darker grey at the lash, then a lighter above and a thin white shadow at her brow that Jody plucked and shaped into arches she had never had before. The mascara and eyeliner made her lashes seem so much longer and the reddish lipstick made her lips look pouty, but Jody said she had those kind of lips naturally.

Her hair was a style much like the one Jane Fonda had worn at the recital dinner in the move Monster in Law. It was short to the base of her scalp, but long enough still to be styled in a slightly slicked back manner and Cody had added a bright red highlights against her natural auburn. She looked nothing like herself.

She slipped into a pair of white flats of Jody's who was thrilled that they wore the same size shoe, then she was led downstairs to wait. Her heart wanted to beat out of her chest when she saw Randy standing at a simple rose garnished arch in the back yard. He was wearing black jeans and a white button down shirt with the sleeves rolled up. Just like the décor he wasn't fancy, but everything was simply beautiful.

"You look amazing." Ted entered the room and handed her a bouquet of white and red roses tied together with a ribbon. They were fake, but they looked real enough and she knew she would never be able to throw them. She sat trying to calm her nerves. She was taking the biggest step of her life and no one but her knew just how much she was fighting against. It was her fight and no one could help her anyway.

Soon, she was told it was time and a song played that she knew Randy had chosen because it was one that had been playing the first time they had kissed and made love. She had remembered it and was shocked that he had too, but he didn't appear happy. He stood as he was expected to, but he didn't smile.

"Can I ask you something?" Ted took her arm and they stood at the door waiting for Jody and Kyle to get down the aisle and take their places. Jody on her side and Kyle stood next to Cody at Randy's side.

"I guess." Rain said.

"Why Randy?" Ted gazed into her eyes with sincerity. "I mean, I tried for years. What made you turn to him?"

"Because he saw me even when everyone was looking."

Ted nodded, his expression showed that he understood where he went wrong, but all he could do was sigh and accept his loss.

"But I think Randy hates me now." Rain stared at him as they walked down the aisle.

"He'll get over it." Ted whispered.


	18. Chapter 18

He felt like a fool standing there knowing that he was going to be stood up, but Randy went through all the motions of the day anyway. The judge had decided to show up to witness his handiwork along with his close relatives on both sides of his family. He was glad his family wasn't any larger than the thirty people that sat on the lawn. He looked at the people he had invited from school, the group he wanted to see him marry Rain and now he regretted inviting them because he would attend technical school with some of them and they would tease him about Rain leaving him at the altar.

Cecelia stared at him with the same lust in her eyes even though he was supposedly about to get married. He thought about hooking up with her after the charade was over. It should have been canceled but his parents agreed with the rant he had spewed the night Rain called off the wedding. At least he would show he was willing to follow the judge's ruling and perhaps it would keep him out of jail. How could he be blamed if the other party wasn't willing?

"What are you smiling like an idiot for?" He asked his little brother when he joined him.

"No reason." Cody said, but he didn't stop smiling. Randy snorted. Both his brothers seemed to think his situation was funny all of a sudden and where was Ted?

They played the song he had chosen and he closed his eyes wishing he could ignore it. He didn't want to look at the sliding doors because he knew this time she wouldn't appear. But she had always appeared before when the song had played. It reminded him of her so much and he remembered vividly how wonderful it had felt to kiss her that first time. He remembered how great it had felt to hold her in his arms, but now he just wished to erase her from his mind. Nothing could make him stop being angry at her.

He finally gazed towards the aisle and his expression changed to one of awe. Ted was walking his way but he wasn't alone. On his arm was his bride, but she didn't look the same. In shock he could not take his eyes away from Rain. The dress she wore gently blew with the wind as she walked and it covered what little baby bump she had and she didn't appear pregnant at all. She smiled slightly. He didn't want to smile because he knew she hadn't wanted him. She was there because someone had convinced her to and that angered him too, but still he couldn't look away. She was breathtaking.

The ceremony was quick and simple. They cut out the parts that asked if anyone objected because there probably wasn't a person present that didn't have one and they cut out the until death do you part because their divorce date was set before their wedding date was.

They said a few vows but it was mainly I do with little more and ended with you may now kiss the bride and Randy hesitated. How could he kiss her when he knew she didn't love him? But he did to seal the deal and found himself lingering despite the rejection he felt inside. He pulled her to him; wanting to hold her because he still loved her and he had a feeling he would never do it again.

The reception followed with a buffet style spread and soft music. The cement pad created for Cody's basketball goal served as the dance floor and Randy and Rain were made to dance their first dance to an old favorite of Jody's sung by Bryan Adams.

Rain was a great actress, staring into his eyes with so much sincerity. She put her arms around his neck and laid her head on his shoulder. It threw him off and he wanted desperately to believe that she was happy to be with him and that being away from him had tortured her soul the way it had his, but her words the week before echoed in his ear.

He thought about the rings sitting in his nightstand drawer that he had left behind. They hadn't exchanged rings and he thought they needed to wear them, but those rings had meant something when he'd bought them that they just didn't stand for anymore. So, they would remain where they were. The marriage was a sham and Rain was there because Jody had somehow talked her into it and not because it was what her heart wanted. He had to remember that.

"You have got to be the luckiest son of a bitch I know."

Randy twirled and a big grin crossed his face.

"Ryback, you sorry bastard," Randy joked and shared a manly hug with his cousin. "Man, are you on roids or something?" His cousin had always been built, but his muscles seemed to have tripled in size since the last time he'd saw him.

"Nope. I live in the gym." He sniffed and cracked his neck. "I think I'm addicted." He looked at Rain and smiled. "Did you lose your manners cuz or are you afraid to introduce me to your bride."

"This is Rain." Randy told him.

"And she's got a name as pretty as she is."Ryback shook his head. "Damn, it must be that pretty boy face of yours because you've always been a little softer in the middle than me." He joked and then swung Rain onto the dance floor playfully. Randy walked off for a drink of punch then snuck off to lace it with liquor. He was happy that his cousin had come. He hadn't seen him since he had visited him before his father's death.

Although he was the son of his mother's brother, Ryback and him had always been close. They lived near him in the city and they had attended the same school. They were best friends and always with the other. He watched him with Rain. She smiled and she seemed to enjoy herself even when they sat with each other, but he didn't know what the night would bring.


	19. Chapter 19

Randy had planned a honeymoon for them. It wasn't anything fancy just a night alone at a local bed and breakfast in their largest room with a balcony and hot tub, but he had canceled it and had his money refunded earlier that week. He didn't regret the decision and was glad that they wouldn't be completely alone.

He had spent some time cleaning the apartment above his families two car garage. He had planned to rent a place in town for them but his mother wanted him close so they gave him the apartment. After Rain called off the wedding he still had plans to stay there with the baby. He had just finished the nursery the day before Rain's news. He didn't know what the following year was going to be like, but he knew it would be easy to get through. The baby would keep him busy along with school and work. The time would go by quickly.

"This place needs a hell of a lot of work, but you shouldn't complain. It's still better than where you were." Randy spat when he opened the door and showed Rain inside. The apartment needed painting and they were stained with spots on all the walls. The kitchen sink was stained as well and looked nasty to him and the stove needed to be replaced. The entire place was an eye sore to him with the exception of the nursery in which he had spent a lot of time making perfect for his little girl. He painted it a pale pink and lined the bottom of the wall with white wood and trimmed it with a fancy chair rail.

He placed a new crib in there along with a padded rocking chair and foot stool. He had already bought lots of plush stuff animals for her and a couple of porcelain dolls which he placed on the built in shelf in the room along with a musical carousal jewelry box that he imagined would be one of his daughters favorite items as she grew.

"It's great, Randy." Rain told him and touched his bicep but he shrugged her off.

"We have to put up with each other for the next year." He growled. "I'll do my part. I'll support you and the baby, but if you think you're going to lock yourself up in a room the whole time you're mistaken. I expect you to do what a wife is supposed to."

She nodded. She had nothing to say in response and she looked like she was about to cry.

"You sure had a lot to say last weekend." He smarted off. "I'm sorry things didn't work out the way you wanted." He went to the bedroom and started to put sheets on his bed that was moved there earlier that day. He had thought it big inside his mother's home, but thinking about sharing it with Rain made it seem much too small. "The sofa pulls out. You'll sleep there." He decided and she instantly looked confused, but he felt no need to elaborate. And he felt no need to be a gentleman and give up the bedroom to her because she was the one who didn't enter their union willingly. She could walk away anytime and he figured she probably would. "I told my cousin he could stay with us this weekend, so we'll have to share a bed, but after …" He would have rather slept on the floor, but doing so in front of Ryback would be too embarrassing especially on his wedding night.

"Randy, about what I said …"  
"What do you have? Some back peddling lie to smooth things over." He stormed past her and went to the kitchen to unpack some of the extra kitchen things his mother had given him from her kitchen. Rain looked at her feet and went back to her normal way of not talking. "Are you going to stand there and watch?" She slowly went to a box on the opposite counter and started putting things away.

Randy only glanced her way. She was pretty. He had thought her beautiful before. He imagined if she had gone to school that way she would have been the most sought after girl in school. They guys from the football team sure had a jealous expression on their face when she walked out.

Ryback didn't knock, but he never did when he came to his home. It was a luxury they both enjoyed when it came to their households. In fact, they would be offended if one did knock.

"I bought pizza." He held up a large box and a six pack in the other hand. "You can't have this Rain drop, but don't worry, I got you something to drink too."

"How did you get that?" it was illegal for either of them to buy beer at least for another three years, but Ryback had his ways. He had always been able to pull off an older age with his size and the scruff he always sported.

"Uh, uh, no questions remember, cousin." He sat down at the table after turning a chair backwards and he presented Rain with a chocolate yoo-hoo he had slipped inside the empty pocket of the six pack after he had downed one of the beers. "I got two more packs on the bike. You want to grab em. I'm starving."

"Didn't you eat at the reception?"

"Ya, but I eat five times a day. I love food." He growled as he bit into a slice. He chewed it, swallowed and then opened his mouth wide and stuck out his tongue in a way that made Rain laugh. Ryback was crudely funny, but he was also a wild trouble maker.

When he came back, Rain was eating. Since the wedding she always seemed to have something to eat in her hand. He thought it was great that she wasn't starving herself anymore. He started drinking, downing two within five minutes. He started to relax, but his emotions were still on the angry side.

"I feel like I'm imposing on you two. Hell, you should be in honey moon mode."

"It's fine." Randy assured him, but he was feeling his attraction for Rain take over.

They played the radio loud and played game of cards. Ryback taught Rain how to play poker and Randy let go and let himself have fun. He playfully reprimanded his cousin for teaching his wife secrets that he never taught to him.

"This is how I always beat him." Ryback winked at Rain.

They played until Rain could barely hold open her eyes. He helped Ryback set up the sofa bed and Rain helped him make it for their company. They said good night and went into the bedroom where the scene became awkward again.

"I didn't see you bring anything. Did you leave it in the house?" she shook her head and pulled back the blanket. He assumed she planned to sleep in the gown she had married him in and he realized she probably didn't have anything with her and he remembered her things were probably still at her father's and they would have to go retrieve them eventually. He went to the dresser where his things were already put away and he took out one of his shirts and tossed it on the bed. She gave him a smile of gratitude and reached behind her neck to try and untie her dress.

Randy couldn't stop himself. He helped her untie it and then unzipped the zipper in the back. He let the dress fall to the floor and kissed her neck and ran his hands around to her belly. He had been dying to feel the baby kick. He smiled when she did.

He took her to bed and consummated their marriage, making love to her slowly and taking great care not to hurt the baby, but in the back of his mind he wondered if he was again doing something she was just too afraid to say not to.


	20. Chapter 20

Rain had wanted to tell Randy why she had broken off the wedding, but she always froze when someone was upset and Randy was very upset. Her showing up and going ahead with their marriage didn't change how he felt.

She was surprised that he had wanted to be with her that night, but lying in his arms with his hand glued to her belly all night felt wonderful. She had dreamed of being in his arms every night. She wished she could tell him everything, but the more she thought about it the more she thought it was a bad idea because the truth was that she found herself at fault for it. It was her weakness that had betrayed their love.

The next morning she had to peel herself out of Randy's arms. He didn't wake and she hoped his hang over wouldn't be too severe. He had drunk a good bit of what Ryback had brought and she knew that was part of the reason they had made love.

Randy's cousin was asleep on the sofa bed when she came out of the bedroom. He seemed nice, but he had a dark side as well. Just like Randy he was cool and calm but he was a little more extreme and less serious.

She was thirsty. Her mouth stayed dry lately and she went to the fridge and took a can of soda. She smiled as she opened it. The littlest things would be a victory for her and she would appreciate them more than anyone would ever understand. She thought about Randy's words the night before. He expected her to be his wife in every way and she knew he meant cooking and cleaning. She didn't find it odd even though his words were harsh and she would have gladly done it even without his demands.

She looked in the cabinets and the fridge and thought for a moment about the ingredients they had on hand. She couldn't imagine Randy thinking to buy all that was there and she assumed Jody had filled the cupboards for him.

She wanted to make a big breakfast, hoping it would soften Randy and tried to be quiet so not to wake Ryback, but she was unsuccessful.

"I could get used to waking up to a view like that."

Rain jumped and flung the pancake she was cooking to the floor. She turned and found Ryback with his head leaned on the back of the couch while his body was still in the bed. She wondered how long he had been watching her and she was even more embarrassed when she looked down and realized she was standing in the kitchen wearing only Randy's tee shirt and a pair of panties.

She wanted to run from the room, but she didn't know what she would cover up with. He laughed and threw her a pair of his boxer shorts to put on from his bag then her rolled out of bed and she felt herself turn red because he was only wearing a pair of boxer's himself. He slipped into his jeans and came into the kitchen and drank two large glasses of water.

"They say you don't say much." He started a conversation leaned against the sink. She didn't know what to say to him. He and Randy seemed close and she was sure he knew a good bit about their situation. "I think you'll get out of that." He laughed. He continued to talk even though she was sure he meant it more for himself than for her.

"Is Ryback your real name?" She finally asked him.

"No. It's a nickname. My real name is Ryan, but no one calls me that unless they want to get pounded."

"Ryan's not a bad name. My name is silly."

"I think it's pretty." He corrected. "It's different. Ryan sounds weak and I'm not weak."

"Oh." That was the last thing she said because Randy wandered out of the room and scowled. His eyes narrowed and he looked down at the shorts she wore that she knew he knew was not from his inventory of underwear and he didn't seem to like it. He flopped down in the chair without a word about the breakfast she cooked even after she had placed it in front of him and he had eaten it all. Ryback was the only one who complimented her. Randy just seemed to be in a foul mood.

"You'll never guess what happened to me yesterday." Ryback again was full of conversation. He seemed to never be short on words.

"What?" Ryback was the only person who seemed interesting to Randy and it made Rain feel used after he had slept with her the night before. Their love making was pretty much the only attention he had given to her since their wedding.

"I was offered a job at a garage in town. Fixing bikes. Seems a lot of these backwoods hillbillies own the things and no one can fix them." He laughed at his own joke.

"Are you going to take it?"

"The guy's offering a pretty chunk." He smiled.

"You can stay here until you find a place." Randy offered.

"That's cool as long as your wife doesn't mind."

"It doesn't matter what she thinks." He got up from the table. "I told Kyle I would help him clean up the back yard. I'll catch you later." He stated and left without acknowledging Rain.

Two weeks went by and her father didn't return and she couldn't retrieve her own clothes, but Jody gave her some things that she had saved from her pregnancy. The clothes were outdated but where gold to Rain and she found them comfortable.

Randy's disposition didn't change either. He was cruel sometimes and she knew she had hurt him. She wished she could turn back time and change the decision she had made, but that was just wasteful daydreaming. So, she did everything she could to prove how she felt about him. She had his food waiting on the table when he and Ryback came home. She made sure the apartment was perfect and she even managed to scrub away the grim from the sink and bathtub. She was able to bleach away some of the stains on the counter and she got on her hands and knees and used a brush to clean the area rug they had sitting in the living room. She cleaned every corner and every crevice and dusted constantly.

By the end of the night she was exhausted and she felt like she was out before her head hit the pillow. But Randy hadn't tried to touch her since their wedding night. Sometimes he would hug up to her and lay his hand on the baby for a while, then he would turn his back to her taking great pains not to let any part of their bodies touch.

She understood that he was tired. He went to school in the mornings and then to work after. Sometimes he didn't come home until midnight. On days when he didn't have work he would leave and only say he was going out and he wouldn't come home until the next day. Ryback was in and out almost as much, but he chose to stay in and watch television during the week. Rain usually sat quietly in a chair until she was too tired after she cleaned the kitchen while he surfed channels and settled on either a sports show. The nights he chose to watch an action movie was a treat for her and she would force herself to stay awake, but sometimes she fell asleep in the chair. She always woke up in bed, but she didn't know if it was Ryback or Randy that put her there until one day she awoke and found Randy wasn't beside her. He had stayed out all night again.

Ryback was nice to her. He made her laugh and she felt comfortable around him. He never hit on her or leered at her. She liked having him around and was sad when he finally found a place of his own. It was in town so she was left alone, but she had control of the television at night which was another luxury she enjoyed freely since Randy wasn't home much longer than to sleep and shower.

Ryback came by on the weekends. Randy didn't work on Sundays and when Ryback called him he would come home and hang with him. He was off every other Saturday and the two would party half the night. For the most part she was alone but she was used to it.

On the third Friday after the wedding she felt particularly uncomfortable. It was really hot outside and she hated carrying the clothes up and down the stairs to the garage to use the washer and dryer. She was two weeks over her due date and she was having trouble sleeping. Randy was nice enough to take her to her doctor's appointments and he always smiled when they took ultrasounds, but she didn't know how much longer she could take being pregnant even though it meant she would no longer have the doctor's appointments to look forward to.

She pushed herself to go downstairs because she didn't want to risk leaving anything for Randy to be mad about. He always seemed mad and if she missed anything it would give him a reason to complain. Her fingers hurt and were still wrinkled from trying to scrub the floor the night before. She had stayed up half the night trying to get dirt out of the creases beneath the cupboards because Randy had complained about dirt in a corner where the trash can sat. She wished she had thought to move it when she had mopped that day. She felt so inadequate.

She didn't feel like climbing back up the stairs so she sat in an old rocking chair in the garage and waited on the washer to stop and then did the same with the dryer. In between she dozed. She used the iron and ironed all of Randy's clothes including his jeans. She desperately wanted his approval.

She took a deep breath at the bottom of the stairs and slowly made her way up them one by one. It was supposed to rain that day and it chose the moment of her slow accent to drop all at once. She instantly felt horrified about the basket of clothes that were getting wet. Half way up a pain shot through her abdomen and she had to stop. She thought it was over, but was now panicked to get inside, not just for the clothes but to call Randy at work. Two more steps and she was hit by another and another. She tried to make herself climb higher but another much stronger caused her to miss a step and she dropped the basket and nearly went down with it.

"Whoa there."

She didn't know why Ryback was there, but she was glad to see him. She was terrified and crying. She cried even harder when she saw all the clean laundry sewn down the stairs, beneath them and on the landing below. She threw her arms around his neck and he held her through another pain.

"Their close." He was sympathetic. "When did they start?"

"Just now."

"Really? No pains all day." He chuckled. "Guess baby girls gonna move just as fast as mommy and daddy."

"My back hurt all day." She shrugged trying to get up the stairs but another pain incapacitated her and then she felt something burst and then run down her legs.

"You're not going to make it inside." Ryback scooped her up and carried her down the stairs. He put her in a truck and sped out of the drive way towards the hospital with his cell phone on his ear. She listened to him call and call his cousin and cursed when he got no answer. He then called his aunt and told her what was going on and told her that Jody was going to leave work and meet them there.

Ryback didn't leave her at the hospital. He rubbed her back and held her hand for nearly an hour before Jody arrived, but neither of them could reach Randy.

"He's not coming." She whined as her labor drew closer to the end. She felt horrible and was in so much pain and she wanted him beside her. "I'm going to die, Ryan."

"You're not going to die." He assured her. She called him Ryan since he's told her his real name and he never seemed to mind.

"Try to call him again. I just want to tell him I love him." She wanted him to know how she felt because she really felt like the end of her life had arrived. She felt so weak.

"Shhh…" Jody comforted, wiping her forehead with a cold cloth. "Babies hurt when they come out, but you won't remember when it's over. You'll only remember how precious your daughter is."

She finally was told she was dilated enough to push and they began to tear apart the bed and position her. She sobbed. The pain turned to fear and she began to sob Randy's name and she knew she didn't make any sense to anyone in the room.

"I wish he didn't hate me."


	21. Chapter 21

Thanks for the the reviews guys. I love reading them. :)

* * *

Randy worked a double that day and then stopped by the bar. There was only one place that would serve him a drink and it was on top of hill in the woods. It used to be someone's home once, but now it served as a private bar that was always open. He spent most his free time there drinking and flirting with the younger girls who found their way there. He hadn't slept with any of them yet, but he often thought about it.

He drank one beer then reached for his phone.

"Damn." He realized he had left it in his locker at work and paid his tab and left. He headed back to his job and by the time he retrieved his phone he had nearly thirty missed calls and almost as many voice mails, but it was the text message sitting on his screen that struck a nerve.

_Answer your phone you stupid asshole. Rain's having the baby. Grow up and get your ass to the hospital._

His cousin had never voiced an opinion about his relationship with Rain. He always listened to him and he seemed to understand Randy's reservations, but he knew that Ryback thought Rain was sweet and he had told him so many times. He didn't think his cousin thought of her like he did, because he was nice to everyone, but it did bother him that Ryback didn't completely take his side.

He ran out the door as fast as his legs would carry him and sped towards the hospital. Luckily he was close to the hospital and it ended up taking him longer to find a parking space then it did for him to drive there. By the time he found Rain she was pushing and his cousin was the one holding her hand.

"Randy," she sounded so weak.

"Punk." Ryback gave him a slight shove as he moved out of the way.

"Alright one more push, Rain." The doctor coached. "She's almost here." They told her to count to ten while she pushed and then they heard the soft cries. Randy smiled. His daughter had finally arrived. The nurses did something he couldn't see to the child quickly and then laid her in her mother's arms with wrapped in a blanket.

She was precious and Randy couldn't help himself. He kissed Rain and for a moment he forgot why he was mad at her.

Rain was exhausted and she fell asleep as soon as she was taken to a room. Randy was ecstatic. He felt like he was on top of the world and planted himself in front of the nursery window just to watch his daughter sleep. Rain had named her Hope and gave her his last name.

"She gets her looks from her mother." Ryback stood beside him. "I just hope she doesn't get her father's personality."

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" He and his cousin had never fought.

"Nothing," he snarled and started to leave.

"No. You meant something. Just go ahead and say it."

"It's not my business."

"Then stay out of it." Those words made Ryback stop and do an about face. He stormed back and stood nose to nose with Randy.

"You almost missed your kid's birth." He growled. "I sat and listened to probably a thousand phone calls about how much you loved that girl and how much you missed her. Now, you got her. She's yours and you treat her like dirt."

"You don't know what you're talking about."

"I don't? I see how that girl busts her ass. She's trying. When are you going to start?" he nearly screamed and refused to let Randy respond. "Ya, I heard that she turned you down. You told me that she called off the wedding and I get it, that hurt, but you have a real problem, cuz. Something goes wrong and you go off mad at the world and you stay that way."

"Oh, so I don't have a right to be pissed? I don't have the right to be upset? I was scared of getting married, but I did it."

"And so did she!" he told him. "Or do you think she didn't have a reason to be scared. I mean you told me you may have forced yourself on her. I think that's a pretty scary situation. She was being ordered to marry a man who took her without her consent. Hell, I think it was only natural for her to want to run." He paused and laughed. "You never sat down and asked her if she wanted to go to bed with you did you? Well, maybe that's where you should start."

"Just go." Randy spat.

"Fine, but don't call me crying when you lose her for good."

"Why, are you going to take her?"

"Ugh, you arrogant son of a bitch. I have watched you take girl after girl that we both liked and not once did I ever step on your toes." He appeared irritated. "I get it. You got the looks. It never mattered how much I worked out or how in shape I got. Not if you were around. I got the face of a dog. I get it. They always wanted you."

"If you want her, you can have her," Randy shot back. "Hell, you would probably enjoy having her play with your emotions then take you for all you got!"

"You're an asshole," Ryback told him with a serious tone. "I didn't come here to tell you I wanted her because I don't feel that way about her." He shook his head in disgust. "She called for you in that room – she loves you. I just thought you might want to know that."

Ryback stayed away for months after their argument, but it didn't stun Randy enough to get over his anger. He continued to ignore Rain and she began to sleep on the sofa bed on her own. She went to work as soon as her doctor released her and took classes to get her diploma. He never heard Hope cry at night because Rain was right there to tend to her every need. He spent time with his daughter. He couldn't imagine loving anyone more in the world and he would find himself watching Rain with her. She was a great mother and he liked to listen to her sing to the baby, but he just couldn't bring himself to forgive her even after six months of their marriage had passed.


	22. Chapter 22

Confidence soared within Rain by the time she turned 18. The longer she was away from her father the more she felt she had her own life and she stopped looking over her shoulder when she walked. Even the fact that she lived next door to the man didn't bother her, but he was still out of town.

Her birthday went by without acknowledgment. It was no surprise to her since she had never told anyone when it was. If Randy wanted to do anything, it was written plainly on their marriage license.

Hope was the center of her life and she enjoyed every minute of being a mom. She and Randy never took care of her together and one day she stopped thinking about doing things with him. She moved out of the bedroom and slept on the sofa on her own and found it more comfortable. They were not a couple and she accepted it. They were nothing more than room mates who shared a child. Yet, she didn't regret Randy. She didn't despise him, she was grateful because he had helped her gain her freedom.

She went to school for a couple hours in the morning until she gained her diploma and then she took classes to become a certified nurse's assistant. She was guaranteed a job when she completed her three weeks and was able to quit her waitressing job.

She had never expected the life she had and she constantly thanked Jody for taking her back and forth to work and for watching her daughter while she went to school and worked at the diner, but the nursing job was straight first and she had to put Hope in a daycare program since Randy worked and went to school too. In a way she thought it was better because she never asked Randy for anything.

When Kyle or Jody gave them their expenses she paid them without argument. She bought the groceries and lived on a strict budget besides what little she was able to get on the nutrition program. Together she and Randy made too much money for food stamps, but it felt good to stand alone.

Eventually, she even stopped trying to please Randy. She applied her make-up and dressed herself to please only herself. She cleaned for herself and her child and she cooked for herself, but didn't stop Randy from eating if and when he was home.

The lack of arguments was a welcomed state even if though she had no company at all. She hadn't seen Randy's cousin since Hope was born and she never got a chance to thank him for being there for her. He was the only person he considered a friend besides Jody and on occasion, Ted.

Ted didn't mind giving her a ride when she needed one and sometimes they would stop for lunch. She found herself laughing more and smiling more and her true self was finally able to develop.

She came home early from work one night with Hope in her arms. The poor baby had a fever and she was worried. She took her to Jody first and she helped calm her fears and helped her to give her some medicine.

"She's just teething." She laughed. "She'll be okay." The woman laughed and then kissed Hope on the forehead. "Oh, Rain, you're a wonderful mom, but you need to take care of yourself too. Why don't you go home and take a bath and I'll watch Hope tonight."

"Thanks, but I got it." She told her. She was off every other weekend and the only thing she cared to do was sit in front of a Disney movie with her daughter who seemed to enjoy the colors of the cartoons.

"Randy went out. You should go with him too." Rain didn't respond. No one really knew how distant the two were. He went out on the weekends and she stopped wondering who he could be entertaining and didn't care to be reminded. She gathered her daughter and the diaper bag and headed out to climb the fifteen steps to the garage apartment.

When Hope finally laid down for her afternoon nap, Rain cleaned the apartment a little and then fixed herself a simple salad for supper. Not because she wanted to lose weight but she just didn't want to cook. Her figure had returned easily and for the first time in her life she saw herself as thin. She only used the glass shack on her days off now and only because she enjoyed it. It amazed her how she didn't feel the need to make anyone else happy, except her daughter.

"Well, didn't you hit the jackpot?"

Her heart stopped and she felt the breath leave her lungs. She put down her salad and turned to find her father standing inside her door. He hadn't knocked and he didn't think he needed an invitation.

"So, you went behind my back and married that boy anyway." He growled. Rain suddenly felt like that little girl again. She couldn't talk and she couldn't explain herself. The man walked around the apartment and surveyed everything she had. "I thought I would come over and see my granddaughter. Grace and I found a nice place near her parents and I came to get you since I know you were supposed to be let out of the home last week."

Rain began to shake. She didn't want to leave her life, but she didn't know how she would stop him from dragging her back. She looked at her sleeping child that her father watched sleep in her crib and she took a deep breath. She had to fight. Hope needed her to be the strong mother she had become.

"But the more I thought about it the more I realized that I'm getting too old to put up with all your trouble. I heard you have a job now."

"Yes."

"That's good." He came into the room and towered over her and Rain backed up and tried to brace herself. The man's temperament could change so quickly. "So you shouldn't have any problem paying me what you owe me."

Rain stared at him, confused. How could she owe him anything?

"I paid a lot of money for a lawyer to help you out." He went on to tell her how much she had cost him and how he would take payments from her and as she always did she went to her purse to retrieve the money, then as she was taking opening it she stopped and thought about how giving him the money would mean she couldn't buy diapers and baby food that week. She realized that if she gave him that money that it would never stop. The man would come back again and again and tap her dry unless she stood up.

"No." she said closing her purse and setting it down.

"Excuse me?"

"No." she repeated. She was terrified of what she was doing, but she was sick of his abuse and his orders. She was an adult and she was a mother. The man had no say in her life anymore. She was free and she was going to exert it. "I didn't ask you to hire a lawyer. That wasn't what I wanted. It was what you wanted." She yelled at him.

"Don't raise your voice at me," he warned and grew red in the face. "You're living in sin. Look at you painted up like a common whore and wearing those flimsy clothes."

"You're the last person on earth who should judge anyone. You're not even a religious person." She spat. For the first time she saw him as an ignorant person. He had a lot of nerve to put down her nurses uniform when he lived with a woman who bleached her hair with peroxide while she laid in the yard topless on a daily basis. "I bet you would burst into flames if you stepped inside a church."

"How dare you talk to me like that." He came towards her and she felt her courage dwindle. He snatched her purse from the table and went to open it. "I'm so glad you're not my problem anymore, but you will pay your debt."

Rain jerked it back and began to scream.

"How dare you!" she shot. "How dare you come in my home and demand money. I've done great since I left your house. All you ever did was starve me and lock me in a room. You made me go against the judge's order and I went to a prison because of it. So, who the hell are you to think I owe you. I don't owe you a damn thing!" she had never had the nerve to stand up to her father, but she knew she could handle the consequences because she had already lived through his punishments. She figured she might as well fight because not fighting had never spared her in the past. She only wished she had done it sooner.

The man pushed her to the floor and stood over her ready to strike.

"Get out!" she yelled, but he laughed at her defiance.

"I believe she told you to leave."

Rain was more surprised to see Ryback at the door than her father. He wasn't intimidated by Ryback's size and it was probably because he was drunk. Her father just laughed and pulled her wallet out of her purse anyway.

"This is between me and my daughter." He informed him and he raised his hand to strike Rain. "You will not disrespect me. I don't care how old you get!"

"I don't think I made myself clear." They heard two short clicks. Ryback pulled a gun. "Family is very important to me and Rain … is family."

"You don't have the guts boy." Her father dropped her purse and rose to the challenge. He took steps towards Ryback.

"Dude, I don't know you which means I don't give a shit if I splatter your blood all over this place." Ryback seemed serious with his eyes narrowed and he drove in his point. Her father walked by him and out the door. "And don't come back here."

"I have a right to see my grandchild."

"No, you don't." Ryback told him. He put the gun away as soon as her father left and he came and sat down on the couch. "Well, that was interesting."

"You haven't been around in awhile." She tried to act unaffected by what had happened, but she was and it angered her that he still scared her.

"I came to see Randy, but I see he's not home."

"He went out." She told him and sat down to finish her dinner. "Are you hungry?"

"Nah. I'm good." He picked up the remote and turned on her TV. "So why aren't you out?"

"I guess I'm just not the partying type."

"Oh, come on. It's not much different than going to a dance, except you don't have a bunch of teachers watching and telling you not to dance so close." He laughed.

"I never went to a dance." There was a lot she had never done, but it didn't matter. Peace was the only thing she had missed out on and she had that now.

"I heard what you said to your dad." He confessed. "That's messed up. Why haven't you told Randy?"

"He wouldn't listen. Besides it's my fault. I'm the one who didn't speak up. I let myself be too scared to do what I wanted."

"You're too harsh on yourself." He stared at her a moment. "You are getting out of this house tonight." In insisted and before she could object he was calling Jody who came and picked up Hope. Rain changed and touched up her make-up but she didn't look forward to going anywhere. People had not always accepted her. "You drive. I've already started my partying this weekend." He laughed and tossed her the keys to his truck.

"I can't." she told him.

"Why not?"

"I don't have a license."

"Oh, hell. That's a problem we're going to have to fix." He grinned. Rain got behind the wheel anyway. "Now, this is a stick so you have to use both feet. Hold the clutch and the brake then turn the key." She did as he said. "Now let off the clutch slowly and press the gas." Rain smiled and put the truck in reverse, then hit the gas and sped out of the drive way, whipping the truck around and expertly putting it in gear on the road. She sped off down the old back road in a way that made Ryback's eyes widen and he grasped the handle above the window tightly. "I thought you said you couldn't drive?"

"I just said I didn't have a license." She laughed enjoying driving his big truck. She loved to drive and she loved to drive at high speeds. "My grandpa raced cars and I spent a lot of time with him on the track when I was little. He taught me a few things."

"I see that." He laughed and started to enjoy the ride especially when she turned up his radio and blasted the heavy metal in his CD player. He directed her to a bar on the top of a hill.

"Just go up to the bar and order a drink. Don't even think about being too young. They serve anyone with money in this place, but if a cop does walk in, which they never do, just hand it to me."

"But you're not old enough either." she whispered.

"My ID says I am." He winked.

They played pool and she drank the beer sparingly. She didn't want to know what it felt like to get drunk, but she liked the relaxing effect a few sips had on her.

"Alright, don't do that. Stop being scared of beating me." He told her at the pool table because she didn't really try to sink a ball into the pocket. She smiled and paid attention to how he shot. Then she tried to use it herself. She wasn't a pro but she turned out to be okay at the game and she liked it.

They danced and had a good time. There were surprisingly a good many young people in the bar along with a large group of older ones who were there mainly to drink. People made fools of themselves and she found it funny. She couldn't' remember a time in her life when she had laughed so much.

A slower song came on and Ryback wouldn't let her walk away. He pulled her close and they danced and talked.

"It's nice to see you having fun." He told her and she was until Randy walked in with a date on his arm. She stopped dancing and stared. She had thought she had stopped caring but when she saw him with her own eyes, it brought more pain than she wanted to feel. "Just ignore him." Ryback told her and swung her around so her back was facing her husband.

But it was hard to see Randy sitting at the table across the room talking to Cecilia of all people. The girl flirted and carried on with him and Randy didn't dismiss her as he did in school. His eyes peered her way but he didn't seem to care that she saw him with another woman.

Another slow dance with Ryback brought solemn silence. She laid her head on his shoulder and let the tears fall when she witnessed Randy and Cecelia's kiss.


	23. Chapter 23

Randy stumbled into the apartment later than usual, but it wasn't until the next morning when he awoke and noticed that Rain wasn't home. He didn't smell breakfast cooking when he opened his eyes and he didn't hear Hope's rattle banging against her walker. He ventured out and found the sofa bed hadn't been pulled out.

He had a vision of her in Ryback's arms at the bar. They had left long before him and he sunk to the sofa and cradled his head in his hands. He knew where she was and who she was with. He felt sick to his stomach and his head hurt. He didn't know if it was a hangover or if his heart was shattering.

He thought about how many chances he'd had and he wasted them all. Suddenly the reasons he was upset seemed silly and he saw the past months and the sadness in her eyes that was caused by him. When she finally came home he was still sitting on the sofa. It was nearly noon and he was drinking. Their eyes met and she looked away, confirming that what he had feared was true.

He felt horrible, like he had been kicked in the stomach and he knew he deserved it. The tears stung his eyes and he refused to let her see them. Without a word, he went into his bedroom and slammed the door. He dug out his cell phone and dialed Ryback.

"I can't believe you did this to me?" He kept his voice controlled but he wanted to shout. He heard the engine in the background. "You didn't even have the nerve to face me. You just dropped her off."

"I don't have a problem facing you." Ryback snapped. "I have to get to work and I don't have time for your bullshit right now."

"I thought we were tight, man. How could you throw it away like this?"

"Are you kidding me? You've cheated on her repeatedly for months and you're upset? What pissed you off more cuz, that she slept with someone, or that she wasn't sitting there waiting when you got home?"

"We're through." Randy screamed. "We're done!"

"Fine with me." And he hung up the phone.

He heard the front door open and he hurried out of the room. He didn't want her to leave.

"Where are you going?"

"I'm going to get my daughter." She spoke in her normal soft tone, but there was something edgy about it.

"So, this is it?" He wanted to hear her say it even though he knew he had hurt her more than he could ever apologize for.

"What did you think Randy? Did you think I would walk into court in a few months and say 'Oh yes, I want to stay married to my husband even though he's never home and he never talks to me. I've witnessed him with another woman but that's okay', I still love him, is that what you thought I would say?"

"At least she wasn't your cousin."

"I slept on his couch last night, Randy." She told him in an irritated and sad tone. "Until last night I could pretend that you weren't with anyone. But I can't unsee what I saw and I just didn't want to come home. I don't care if you believe that or not."

Randy smiled and took her hand.

"You really didn't, did you?" Her eyes were too sincere for him to disbelieve her. He pulled her into his arms and hugged her. "I'm so glad." He felt relieved and he just wanted to hold her and to have another chance to make things right. He kissed her cheek and trailed his fingers up and down her arms. He wanted her right then and there. He wanted to show her he could be the husband she deserved. "I'm so sorry."

"No, Randy." She pushed him away. "No." he was shocked. She had never turned him away before.

"Rain –please," he thought about the fear he'd had all along. "Did you ever really want to be with me?"

"What do you mean?"

"You know what I mean. Did you want to go to bed with me before or did I force …"

"If you mean could I have stopped you? No. I couldn't have done anything to stop you if you were set on it, but I didn't say no."

"But did you want to say no?" his voice cracked in anticipation of her answer.

"I wanted to be with you, Randy. I really liked you. I loved you, but …"

"No, don't say you don't love me anymore."

"I don't know." She sighed. "Come on Randy, we're not always going to agree and what are you going to do? Are you going avoid me and refuse to talk to me for months every time we fight? Are you going to find another woman? I can't live like that."


	24. Chapter 24

Rain bought a car and Jody drove her to get her license. It was the last step to independence and she conquered it. It was hard for her to break off her relationship with Randy, but she knew it would be harder to stay. So, she took a chance and went to the courthouse and waited half of her day off to speak with the judge who had ruled in her case.

"Hello," he said kindly in his office and seemed impressed by how different she appeared. She thanked him and sat down and explained the situation to him.

"I just can't live with him anymore." She said with a tear in her eye. "We don't fight, but one day we might and I don't want my daughter to grow up in that kind of environment." It saddened her that she was given up, but Randy had hurt her beyond repair. "I have a good job, a baby sitter and I can afford to live on my own and that's what I would really like to do."

He mulled over her statements and nodded his understanding about Randy's infidelity.

"You know you looked like someone who needed help when you first came into my office. It seemed like everyone was making decisions for you and you just couldn't speak for yourself. I made this decision for two reasons; one was because I was sure you loved that boy."

"I did love him."

"And two was because I thought it would save your life."

Rain looked up suddenly with surprise.

"I've seen girls like you and there's nothing I can do to help most of them. They're abused and they are terrified to speak up. The problem is that unless they find the courage to talk, there's no proof that anything is going on. Then later on I find out they died. Sometimes murdered and sometimes they take their own lives. I saw a way to help you and it looks like it worked." The judge moved her court date to only a few weeks down the road and gave her permission to move out. She was shocked by his revelation and shocked that he lifted his tough ruling.

In court, Randy stood with his head down and she thought she saw him wipe away a tear. He seemed honestly sorry about what he had done in their marriage, but the damage was done. Rain insisted that they keep the issue of child support between the two of them. Just so she could make a point to him and anyone else who doubted the type of person she was. She never wanted money from him and his expression told her he had realized the truth too late.

She found a nice apartment with a playground for Hope. It was peaceful and had a gym and a pool for the residents use. She felt like she had moved into a palace. Sometimes she wished she had a friend to talk to. She missed Randy when she used the gym in the evenings, but they had never really talked much and she missed Ryback, who she hadn't seen since she had stayed the night in his apartment, but she knew he was married to his work and only came ventured out once in a while. Jody had even said that he had mentioned moving back to the city and she thought he probably had.

She felt like she was living a fairy tale. She had her daughter and was thrilled watching her grow. She even smiled when she started to walk and would run into Randy's arms every time he came to pick her up which was more often than the time he had spent with her when they lived with him.

It took a lot of strength for her not to let him draw her back in. He always kissed her cheek when he left and he apologized repeatedly until she asked him not to anymore. She was happy where she was and didn't want a relationship. They were too hard and too much work. She was content being alone with only Hope in her life.

A year later, her world threatened to crash when a malpractice law suit closed the facility she worked for. She had saved a lot but didn't know how long that money would last. She hunted for work every day, but no one was hiring because the economy was so low, or so everyone thought. She feared she would eventually have to get a government apartment and she hated to think about the kind of people that could be her neighbors.

But she got a call on the day she went to fill out the paper work. She had an interview for a job in the emergency room and left the long line of the social services department to go to it. She didn't expect it to pay what her former job had, but it would keep her out of the government programs.

She wasn't keen on the blood and gore of the hospital, but the pay was twice that of her former job so she took it. She worried about catching the flu or worse ailments from the patients that walked in at first, but soon she forgot and focused on helping.

She met a lot of interesting people and had a first name relationship with the regular visitors. Rain really liked her boss, a woman in her mid thirties who could easily pass for mid twenties named Glenda. She took to Rain quickly.

"Girl, I have a room packed with bachelors." She laughed one night. It was a mid week night that was usually slow and not many nurses where scheduled to work.

"Bachelors?" Rain was confused.

"Ya, the best man rented a bus."She rolled her eyes. "I think the best man screwed up and tried to have one of those rolling parties to cover up his mistake. He drove it off the shoulder of the road and flipped the dang thing. Can you stay?"

"You're lucky my ex has Hope tonight." She joked. "Go ahead and start taking vitals, I'll be right behind you. I have to find out where the doc is hiding. This is a hell of a night to only have one doctor on staff."

"Hey baby." Rain had also become accustomed to having her but smacked from time to time by male patients, but this crowd was intoxicated and acted wild. She guessed them to be biker's from the leather jacket's they sported. Some of them had large gashes and others had broken bones, but they were so drunk they didn't seem to notice the pain.

"Go ahead and grab you one." She heard then she ended up being forcefully held on a man's lap. She shrugged it off while they all howled their approval.

"You got a pretty one." Another one hollered.

"Really, let's see." She turned to face the guy and laughed. "Damn, I must be totaled because this girl looks just like my cousin." Ryback flashed a drunken grin and his friends were hysterical. "Hi Rain."

"Cousin?" She put her arm around his neck and leaned to his ear. "I don't think your cousin's supposed to give you a boner, Ryan." She teased and then grew serious. "You're pouring blood." She had a towel in her hand and used it to dap at his forehead until she could see the extent of his injuries. He had a terrible gash that appeared nearly an inch deep.

Ryback was laid back, the way he normal was when he after drinking an extensive amount of alcohol. He sat on a bed in triage and looked like he was going to fall asleep. Rain worried he was going to pass out because his blood was so thin from alcohol and he was still gushing from his wound as well.

"Lie back," she told him. She didn't want to appear to be giving him more attention than the other patients, but his injuries were more personal.

"You're so pretty." He stammered.

"Ryan, come on, lie down." He laughed even though nothing funny had been said and threw himself back. "Oww." He complained after missing and hitting his head on the bed rail.

"See, that's what you get for trying to be funny." She teased. "I think you're next on the doctor's list. You'll be home soon." She smiled and patted his hand. "What the hell were you guys up to tonight?"

"I don't know. I only work with the guy. They're the groom's friends. I was just hoping to get laid." His eyes opened wide and he stared at Rain. He hadn't meant for her to know what he had said. "That sounds bad doesn't it?"

"Based on the fact that you came in here with all men – yeah."

"No. no. I was expecting to go to a strip joint or something. I thought I might be able to take home one of the dancers, maybe a waitress."

"That's not much better." She was slightly disappointed in him, but tried to remember that he was a single guy. She wasn't upset that he wanted another woman, just that he was willing to sleep with anyone without knowing them." She turned to return to her duties. Most of the minor cases had been discharged including the man of honor who stopped by to check on his co-worker before heading home with his arm in a cast. She felt sorry for him and hoped his wedding wasn't the following day because it was two in the morning when he exited and he would be in a lot of pain by six or seven.

"What's the damage, Glenda?" She was exhausted and really wanted to go home and soak in the tub.

"Just your friend and one more. We were lucky doctor Shelton was on call tonight. That helped move them." She laughed. The next shift had started to come in at midnight and the extra hands had been a blessing in moving the fifty something men in and out of the triage area.

Ryback was sobered slightly by the time he was released, but he had a beer waiting for him in his jacket pocket and he popped it before he was officially discharged. Rain was finally off and heading out the door.

"Really?" she teased at the door while another nurse gave him papers to sign. He had drunk half of it already but she took it away and poured it down the sink in the room then tossed the can in the trash.

"That's alcohol abuse, Rain." He grinned.

"So, lock me up." She snapped, "You've been bleeding like a stuck hog. You keep drinking tonight and your blood will be as thin as water."

"I'll just get drunk quicker." He attempted to be funny again.

"Is someone coming to drive you home? Do you want me to call someone?"

"Nope. I'm walking home." Side by side they exited the hospital.  
"I'll drive you, come on." She told him and helped him as best she could because he could barely walk. He propped himself against her car while she unlocked the door.

"Rain."

"Huh?" He bent down and kissed her then pulled her into his arms. Their kiss was unexpected and long, but passionate. He pulled away and stared into her eyes with longing and regret.

"Why do I always fall for women who are off limits?"


	25. Chapter 25

With a dozen roses, Randy stood at Rain's door. His mom agreed to watch Hope and he had reservations for lunch at a fancy restaurant already in place. He adorned his best suit and tie and carried the ring he had bought long ago in his pocket just in case it went as he dreamed it would, but when he stepped up to Rain's door and positioned his fist to knock, he heard noises coming from inside. He dropped his hand and strained his ears to hear.

Rain wasn't alone. He could plainly hear the sounds of love making and his heart shattered. She had moved on. He stood against the wall, listening then let himself slid to the floor. Over and over he thought that the man in her bed should have been him. He knew he should have left but he wanted to see who had taken his place. He waited and waited and grew even more jealous by the duration of their intimacy.

He must have been there two hours before the door opened. Rain was shocked to find him with his head cradled in his hands sitting next to her door.

"Randy?" she glanced behind her and he heard the man retreat and he heard the bedroom door close. He stood and faced her, his head dropped.

"You're with someone."

"Yeah." She admitted, but wouldn't open the door wider than her body width. She wore a short red robe and he suspected she wore nothing beneath it and it dug the knife deeper. "I was just getting my paper." She bent down and grabbed the rolled up object and stood back up.

"Well, you might as well take these, too." He said and handed her the roses. "I don't know what I was thinking."

"You always do this." She spat. "Always."

"What am I always doing?" he shouted back.

"This – you expect me to be waiting all the time and then you want me to feel guilty if I even think about going out with someone else. Well I did wait. I waited for you for months and months."

"I waited for you too." He reminded her. "But you wouldn't talk or see me."

"It's not the same thing."

"It is the same."

"No. It's not. I was held against my will. No one had you locked up from me. You chose it. Now leave me alone, please." She cried and started to close the door. He thrust it open and followed her inside.

"What do you mean you were locked away from me?"

"You're not stupid. You know my father was behind my absence."

"I didn't know."

"Then maybe you should have let me explain. You were the one who was so stubborn and so angry that you wouldn't give me the chance to explain."

"I'm listening now."

"I don't want you to listen." She shouted. "I want you to go."

"Who's in there?" he demanded.

"That's none of your business, Randy. Get out."

"No. I want to know who's hiding in your bedroom. Is that what you want? A gutless man who can't even face your ex? He can't even come out here and face me. Come out!" he screamed.

"Randy, leave." She demanded. "He has nothing to prove to you and neither do I."

Finally he relented and left. No amount of begging or fighting was going to change the present. In fact, he was sure that it was his jealousy and arguing that had pushed her further away from him.

But he couldn't bring himself to drive out of the parking lot. He waited. He wanted to see who her new man was. He waited and waited. No one left and eventually the sun went down on the day. He thought about how childish he was acted sitting there with every intention of running whoever it was out of Rain's life. He went home defeated.

Days passed, weeks passed, months passed and eventually the calendar marked the second year of Hope's life. Jody helped plan a huge birthday party for her, inviting everyone in the family and causing humiliation for Randy. He looked forward to the celebration of his daughter, but dreaded the inevitable revelation of his break up with Rain because most of the guests would be the same ones that had attended their wedding. He never told anyone because he intended to win her back, but it hadn't been as easy as he hoped.

Several times he had visited her home unexpected; many times he just wanted to see if she was alone. Most of the time she was and sometimes he would knock and tell her he just wanted to spend a few moments with Hope, which wasn't entirely a lie and sometimes he would just listen for a while and walk away. Other times he would hear laughter on the other side, her laughter, her squeals and it sounded like she was being chased through the apartment. He would sit and smoke cigarettes at the door when he heard her in the throes of passion.

At the party he stood beside Rain with his daughter. They helped her blow out the candles on her cake and laughed when she took a fist full and crammed it into her mouth. He was really happy that he bought the child a separate cake because he imagined no one would want to eat a cake she had mangled. His daughter was beautiful and reminded him more of Rain than of himself, but she thought the world of him, unlike her mother.

That evening some of the once in a while guests left and the closer relatives remained. Randy and Ryback sat outside the garage with his latest purchase, a motorcycle and tried to get it in working order. It was in rough shape when he bought it, but his cousin had high expectations and Randy couldn't wait to ride side by side with him.

Rain sat on the front porch with his mother and a friend of hers she had invited. She was a distraction in the bikini she wore and she was still wet from the swimming pool. He suddenly hated the water hole his parents had installed a few weeks before especially when the three women decided to sun themselves on the front lawn. He couldn't take his eyes off of her. Her figure was perfect.

"Cuz, you're about to flick ashes into the gas tank." Ryback reprimanded him before too long and he moved the unmounted gas tank behind them. His eyes glanced at the women. "You're turning into a stalker."

"I am not."

"Please." His cousin snorted. The two were again close. Their argument lasted as long as it took Randy to stop fuming over the sarcastic statement's Ryback made on the day Rain left him. "You're like my brother, Randy, but you're borderline psychotic."

"I'm just having trouble that's all. I can't just stop loving her." Randy used a ratchet to tighten some bolts on a part then sighed. "She's got a new man now. I heard her in bed with him a couple times."

"A couple times?" Ryback didn't look up from his work. "What do you do? Sit outside her door?"

"Once or twice."

"That's sick." He retorted. "You act like she's not supposed to move on."

"I think she'll end up marrying this guy. Last time I went to see Hope she was with him. She sounded like she was having a lot of fun. She was happy. I didn't want to see it so I didn't knock and went home."

"She's not going to marry him." Ryback stated.

"How do you know that?"

"I—I don't. I'm just saying you don't know all the details. It could be nothing more than just sex."

"Rain wouldn't do something like that."

"Dude, you got to bring her down off that pedestal you got her on." He half laughed and shook his head.

"I don't have her on a pedestal."

"Yes, you do. You always have. In your mind she's nearly a saint. You have these high expectations and when you find out she's done something that's not so holy, you get all pissed off. Hell, you've ranted to me about things that you yourself have done. You've done worse I might add."

"She's not like us. She's not going to go to bed with a man she doesn't love."

"Have you seen her with this guy yet? Is she parading him around in public? Is he over there sitting beside her in the grass? Trust me; she's got a friend with benefits thing going on." He started putting together the bike and in an hour's time they were ready to see if it would start. And it did.

The girls joined them when it did and Randy drove it around to test it.

"I want to ride." His mom was excited for their triumph and Randy took off out of the drive way carefully because he didn't know how the motor would hold up. When he returned, his cousin wanted to test it and listen for a few things he had heard and he took off. When he came back, Rain's friend Glenda wanted to go for a ride and he suspected she had a thing for him the way she held on tight to his waist. When he returned she was laughing.

"Do you want to ride, Rain?" Ryback offered. Randy was a little upset because he had planned to do the same, but he knew his cousin was trying to help by taking the temptation away from him knowing Randy would do something to screw it up like pull off on a dirt road or something.

"Sure." She appeared a little scared to ride, but she climbed on anyway and held his shoulders as they drove off.


	26. Chapter 26

Rain squealed and wrapped her arms around Ryback's waist the moment they were out of site. He had gunned it, making it jerk slightly so she was sure he had done it so she would hold him tighter. They weren't an item and they weren't a couple, but they were really good friends.

The night of his accident they had fallen asleep talking in her bed. Neither of them was ready for a serious relationship. Both of them had misgivings and fears, however a morning kiss turned into making love and afterwards they decided that there was nothing wrong with that. They didn't hook up every day or even once a week. It was a need that they both had from time to time and they hid it well.

Neither of them wanted to hurt Randy, especially Ryback. Rain really wasn't up with dealing with the stress that came with her moving on and even though she had feelings for Ryback that crossed the friendship line, she didn't want to destroy the bond they had built. It was amazing how easily they fell out of bed and acted like they had never seen each other naked.

Ryback turned down a dirt road that led them to a pond. Everyone knew the road well and the owner of the property didn't mind people riding their four wheelers and such on the property as long as they took responsibility for their injuries if something happened. She expected him to test out the speed, then turn around and head back because they both knew how jealous Randy could get. Instead he parked beside the pond and turned off the engine. They both got off and he sat down on the bank and pulled her down beside him.

"This is my favorite spot in this town." He mused as he threw a rock into the water. They watched a fish jump out of the water. "I've never brought anyone here with me before."

"It's not a secret hide a way, Ryan. Everyone knows it's here." She joked.

"I know that. I'm just saying I usually come here alone."

"That's because you usually are alone." she tested walked out into the water until it was knee deep and thought about jumping in. she still wore her bikini and knew it would be dry with the wind whipping through it on the way back to Randy's.

She didn't expect Ryback to enter the water with her. He was dressed in jeans with his normal boots. She felt his bare feet next to hers but she laughed when she saw him standing in his boxers. Then he surprised her again by encircling her waist and nuzzling his chin in the nook of her neck. He squeezed. It wasn't their normal behavior. They never showed more than friendly affection for each other outside of their homes.

"I want to ask you something and you might hate me for it.

"Will it change us?"

"Yes."

"Then don't' say it." Rain was content in her life. Ryback was always there for companionship. She didn't love her job as much as her old one, but she loved the money. Her daughter was happy and wanted for nothing. She wanted for nothing and she had peace. She enjoyed living a single life without a husband or father to answer to and she had no plans to find a boyfriend.

"Rain, I love our relationship." She thought their relationship with Ryback was perfect, too. She enjoyed the intimate relationship and a close friendship, but he never showed jealousy or anger if he witnessed her talking to another man. He never questioned her choices and she knew it was because he knew she didn't belong to him and it wasn't his place. "But I think we're kidding ourselves here."

"How?"

"That we're only friends."

"We both agreed that it's better for us to be with each other instead of going off with people we don't know."

"Yeah, and that's been great, but can you honestly tell me that this pact wasn't partly made because of Randy?"

Rain couldn't deny it. She moved her foot through the water and watched the water splash and wave. She often thought it would be nice to be able to walk into a restaurant holding his hand and she when they went to a movie she was often tempted to snuggle up to him, or steal a kiss.

"We should get back before they come looking for us." She moved from his embrace and waded through the water.

"Damn it Rain, you always do this." He didn't sound serious. He chuckled. He always seemed tickled by the way she changed some of the topics he brought up, but he wouldn't close the door on it like she wanted and he pinned her against the bike, cupped her face in his hands and kissed her, long and softly showing his feelings with the way his tongue and hands moved.

"We can't do this here." She laughed at him and the way he tugged at the tie on her bottoms that were only there for decorations and had no actual function.

"Come on, no one's around." He teased and kissed her neck and she was tempted, but had to push him away and retie her top that he had untied. "Ryan!" she hollered when made pig noises on her neck. "Their gonna think something happened and come looking for us." She turned away from him and fixed herself. "You're not that quick." She reminded him. Ryback always like to take his time and their love making never lasted less than an hour.

"No one's going to come. They'll call." He urged and traced his finger on her side making her shiver. He knew every spot that enticed her and used it against her on many occasions. His phone rang, just as he had said and he answered it, but didn't stop his foreplay. "Ya, it quit on us." She couldn't hear the other side of the conversation. "No. I think I about got it. I had a wrench in my back pocket." He hung up the phone.

"You liar." She joked and he pulled her close and lowered her to the grass. His touch felt so wonderful. It had been a few weeks since they had touched in that way and it was hard to turn down and the thought of getting caught excited her. Part of her wished that Randy would come along so that she and Ryback could finally be honest with each other and stop hiding. They were soon one with each other and they stopped caring about anything but the feeling of the moment.

"Do you hear that?" He stopped thrusting and looked towards the dirt road. They heard a vehicle's engine. "Shit." They jumped up and dressed, then Ryback snatched something off the motorcycle. "I lost my ratchet." He scanned the area in a panic.

"Is this it?" she handed him a silver object that had fallen from where his jeans had been tossed. He knelt by the bike and pretended he was working on it just as Randy pulled up.

"What are you doing out here? I looked up and down that road twice looking for you guys."

"I wanted to see if the fist were jumping." Ryback lied. "I was thinking about going fishing tonight and then the damn thing wouldn't start back up."

"Oh." Rain bit her lip. She wanted to laugh because Randy was so clueless. Was he purposely ignoring all the signs like the sticks in her hair and the dirt on her back because it was cousin or was he plain stupid? "I brought more tools." He picked a steel box out of his trunk and then came to help Ryback.

Rain went to the pond and jumped in. She swam around a little and then floated on her back and looked up at the clouds in the sky. The water wasn't cold enough to cool her off and she felt anxious to get Ryback alone. She was addicted to the way he made her feel in bed. She watched him on the bank and smiled knowingly when he snapped it back in place and started it easily.

She swam to the shallow water and stood up and slicked her hair back as she exited. When she gazed up both of the men were staring at her.

"What?"

"Nothing?" Randy busied himself picking up the tools and took them to his trunk.

"Girl, you just don't know how sexy you are do you?" Ryback joked and she laughed without worry. It wasn't an unusually comment to come from him, no matter who was around.

"You want to ride back with me. You're wet and it'll be a cold ride on that thing." Rain nodded knowing it was true and she really needed to put distance between herself and Ryback so the turned on feeling would leave her alone.

"Here." Ryback said. "You drive it back. You might as well get another ride out of it, just in case it tears up again." The bike was the only thing that seemed to distract Randy from her. It was the only object that he ignored her for. They watched him drive off on it. Ryback kissed her neck. "I love that bike." He said sarcastically. "He's thinking about the movies tonight. He asked me and I said sure. He's probably going to ask you, too."

"I could go for a movie." But she really just wanted to be with Ryback. She had watched young couples ignore movies completely and make out and sometimes she wanted that with him, but crossing that line would bring stress to her life and that she didn't know if it would be worth it.

Too make things worse, Randy chose a romantic movie and it was obvious it was for her benefit. She was glad that Ryback was coming along, but she invited Glenda just for an added distraction, but they still ended up with Randy between them.

The movie was about best friends who liked the same girl. She dated one and the other friend lusted after her. The man always hinted at his feelings when no one was looking and she saw Ryback squirm in his chair a few times at the irony.

A particularly sweet moment prompted Randy to place his hand on hers and it made her uncomfortable, but she didn't want to cause a scene by jerking away. Then, unexpectedly, Ryback leaned over him and took his hand and placed it in Randy's lap and gave him a reprimanding glare.

"Come help me get some popcorn." Ryback ordered Randy and she felt a knot in her stomach. Was Ryback finally fed up with sparing Randy's feelings?


	27. Chapter 27

"You have got to chill with that shit." Ryback told Randy as they stood in line at the concession stand. "She doesn't like you always trying to touch her."

"Did she tell you that?" He knew that she and his cousin where friends and they hung out sometimes.

"No. but it's obvious it makes her uncomfortable. Eventually, she's going to stop wanting to be around you and you need to think about Hope. It would be nice if her parents got along." He said. "Hell, you know I'm friends with her and it would be great if I could hang out with both of you with it ending with you two fighting."

"Rain and I are friends." Ryback snorted. "What's that for?"

"You two have never been friends." He orders some popcorn and drinks. He had a point. Ryback knew what kind of soft drink Rain preferred and he didn't have a clue even though he had been married to her.

"We were married of course we were friends."

"No. You laid claim to her. I'm going out to smoke before we go back in. You picked a real snooze fest." He seemed irritated with him. He followed him out and they set down their snacks on the concrete and lit cigarettes. "I wish you would just forget about her and move on. I'm sick of watching you make a fool of yourself."

"Rain and I are going to get back together."

"No. You're not Randy!" he hollered. "She's not that same little girl that you met, she's different."

"She's still Rain."

"Only because you still see her as that scared girl who didn't have a mind of her own and you laid claim to her just like you did with those girls in the city." He and Ryback had been forced to volunteer in a counseling program in school where they had met victims of physical abuse. "You knew the signs. Don't tell me you had no idea she came from an abusive home. You know how girls like that are. They're terrified and they go out of their way to please people in their lives. You took advantage of her like you did that girl you talked to at the center."

"It's not the same thing."

"Whatever makes you feel better. You thought you were a big man when you took that girl to your house and got her into bed. You bragged about how much you enjoyed working at the home because of how easy it was to get laid. And that's why you kept volunteering until you moved here."

"I loved Rain." Randy insisted.

"You loved her so much that you purposely knocked her up. You told everyone your condom broke, but you told me the truth, remember? You told me how you had removed the damn thing on several occasions. Then you finally did it and you had her trapped. The damn judge even helped you and forced her to marry you and you spent the entire marriage treating her like shit."

Randy hung his head. He couldn't deny the truth. It was all true. He had become obsessed with Rain and he wanted to tie her down before another man saw how beautiful she was.

"She's not that weak anymore and every time you do things like this she takes a step back. She thinks she owes you something and she doesn't. If you really love her and you really want her back, try being a friend to her first and stop acting like she's still your woman. Let her make the move to be more if she wants it. Let's go back in." Ryback calmed down and answered a text he had received before they picked up their wares and headed back in.

He sat down. Rain was smiling and reading a text message on her phone. Randy didn't mean to look, but he was curious. It said: I'm going to tear you apart later, but he didn't see who had sent it. He realized right then and there that what his cousin said was true. She wasn't thinking about him nor was she saving a place for him in her heart.

Over the next few months Randy changed the way he was with Rain. He never crossed the line of friendship even though there were times when she would look at him a certain way and he would want to kiss her lips.

He finally asked out a girl that he worked with. Molly. She was a little woman, standing barely over five foot tall and she had long black hair. He knew she had a crush on him and he thought she was cute, but other than her crush, he knew nothing about her. He took her out to dinner at a little Italian restaurant. Molly had a great sense of humor and they had a lot in common. By the time they got to the movie they were having trouble talking. He didn't expect to be turned on by her. Inside the theater he took a chance and kissed her before they took their seats. They ended up kissing through most the movie and ended up leaving and going back to his place.

The next morning he felt strange. He had never imagined himself sharing that bed with anyone other than Rain, but at the same time it was a relief to move on.

Molly spent the entire weekend with him. They swam in the pool and talked. He explained about Hope and Rain, but he left out how he had been obsessed with her. He was honest about how he had acted during his marriage and to his surprise Molly understood and didn't become painfully awkward and run out like he had expected her to.

Molly enjoyed riding motorcycles as much as he did and she hugged up to him on his with no reservations. She would start food fights on their dates and they had been thrown out of a couple on occasion. The more time they spent together, the less he thought about Rain. Soon he was taking the rings he had bought to the pawn shop, but he couldn't bring himself to sell them. Instead he took them home and stuck them in the far corner of his closet. He couldn't part with them, yet he didn't feel the need to stare at them every night any longer.

His mother threw a barbecue one night before summer ended. She wanted to enjoy the new pool as often as she could before the days grew cold. The backyard with the party lights shining bright was the perfect romantic setting and he and Molly sat outside on lawn chairs drinking margaritas while his mother prepared a salad. They were laughing and enjoying each other's company until Rain walked in unexpectedly. He hadn't known his mother had invited her and he hurried to slip the alcoholic drink out of site before Hope came running into his arms. He never drank around her.

"Who's that?" The little girl asked.

"Hope, this is Molly." He told her sweetly.

"Hi." She said politely, but the way his daughter narrowed her little eyebrows told him that she wasn't happy about another girl being in her daddy's life.

"Hi." Rain was polite. She didn't seem jealous or upset that Randy had a date, but Randy was a little taken aback that she had arrived with Ryback. He knew they had ridden together because Ryback carried Hope's bag over his shoulder.

He introduced his new love to his ex and they exchanged pleasantries before Rain took Hope to the pool.

"Does your ex always come to family get togethers?" Molly asked him with a hint of jealousy after Rain exposed the one piece suit with no back and no sides. Only the thin piece of material in the front made the thing be considered a one piece and Randy knew his eyes had lingered too long.

"She used to be our neighbor." Randy tried to shrug it off. "She and Mom have always been close and we really try to keep a friendly relationship for Hope."

"Well, that's good I guess." She said her eyes still locked on his former love. "Is that her boyfriend?"

"That's my cousin … and yes." He lied mainly to avoid any arguments. Where Molly was concerned, he was over Rain. She was the mother of his child, nothing more.  
"That doesn't bother you?"

"What?"

"That your ex is dating your cousin."

"No, why would it? We were just kids when we were together." He laughed. "We're just friends now. We made our mistakes and we moved on." His answer seemed to impress Molly. She thought it was sweet and kissed him long and passionately to show her understanding.

When Molly excused herself to go to the bathroom, Randy called his cousin over in a hurried manner.

"What's up?" Ryback asked while kneeling beside him. Hope came running to his cousin and begged him to get back in the pool.

"I need you to do me a really big favor."

"Anything within reason."

Randy looked back over his shoulder just to check and then whispered.

"Molly thinks you and Rain are … you know … a thing."

"A thing?"

"Dating." He said quickly. "Can you help me out? I really like her."

"And you don't want her to think that there may still be a flame between you and your ex."

"Yes."

"Are you sure about this?"

"Just kiss her or something. You two are friends. Rain will be fine with it."

"She might slap me." He laughed and went back to swimming with Hope in his arms.

When Molly returned her eyes were on Rain. He knew that she was like any other woman who felt threatened by her man's ex and he understood why Molly would be threatened by Rain. Rain had the perfect body. She was cut in the right places and had long elegant legs. Molly was attractive and she wasn't a big girl, but she didn't have the same curves and wasn't as big in the chest. Randy liked her the way she was, but he understood how Molly would feel inadequate next to Rain. It was the same way he felt when he stood next to Ryback.

Then, just as he had asked, Ryback went up to Rain who was relaxing against the side of the pool. He pulled her close and pressed his lips against hers Rain didn't pull away. She returned his affection and Randy had to swallow the hard lump in his throat.


	28. Chapter 28

"What are you doing?" Rain whispered while her arms where wrapped around Ryback's neck in the pool. She knew that Randy was watching and she expected a big fight to follow despite the presence of Randy's new girlfriend.

"It was Randy's idea." He told her and she gave him a questioning look, because she didn't believe him. "I swear." He said and kissed her again. They were interrupted when Hope came running across the pavement. She had been playing in the sandbox with her pail and shovel and she had caught a lightening but in the small bug catching toy that Ryback had bought her earlier that day. She ran to show it off but her little feet weren't as fast as her ambition and she fell and they heard a heart stopping scream. Rain, Randy and Ryback where all on the run to get to the little girl who had blood pouring from her mouth, but Rain was the first to scoop her up in her arms and rush her inside.

Jody always panicked when she saw blood on Hope and she was quick to get a cold cloth so they could survey the damage.  
"She split her lip." Ryback said, inspecting the cut.

"It's going to swell, but it won't be that bad." Rain double checked to be sure it didn't need stitches, but it was barely split so she knew it would be alright. "Do you want a popsicle baby?" She knew the toddler wouldn't hold ice on her lip, but she loved the popsicles her grandma always had on hand. Hope shook her head back and forth and continued to cry.

Randy stood on her other side and Hope reached out for him and he easily calmed her down. Rain went to the freezer and got out a cherry pop and opened it. She stood beside Randy and rubbed Hope's back and they both talked softly to her and she finally took the treat and ate it while laying her head on her daddy's shoulder. Randy didn't seem to care that she dripped the sticky excess on his bare shoulder and it ran down his chest and side.

Rain glanced at Molly and gave her a weak smile. Poor Molly stood far back and Rain knew she felt helpless and the look on her face appeared a little hurt by how Randy and Rain came together to care for their child.

After they ate, they all sat around talking. Randy and Molly stayed in there lawn chairs and Rain took a spot on the swing and Hope crawled up in her lap. She was cranky and Rain rocked her gently back and forth. Ryback sat down, placed his arm around her and kissed Hope's forehead, then kissed Rain's cheek.

"Is she alright?"

"I gave her something for the pain." Rain whispered and leaned into his embrace. It felt nice to be a couple with him, but they usually did act close, so it wasn't too much different … except for the kissing. Soon, Hope was asleep. Rain played with her little curls. It was so soft and she thought about how much she loved her. The little girl had her heart, but she also thought about what it would be like when Hope was old enough for school. She already only wanted Rain to hold her when she was hurt or tired.

Rain also thought about how it had been like to grow up as an only child. She wanted Hope to have a brother or sister and she didn't want a big age difference between them.

"I want another baby." She mused out loud and Ryback nearly spit out the tea he'd been drinking.

Molly laughed, probably because Ryback looked so shocked. Randy laughed, but she knew it was a nervous fake laugh. It was an obvious act to Rain, but Molly probably wouldn't have noticed.

"We can work on that one later." Ryback said between coughs and that brought on one of Randy's angry glares.

"I'm going to lay Hope down on Grandma's couch." She spoke like she was talking to the sleeping Hope, but she really just wanted to run away, because her slip of the tongue had embarrassed her. Hope stirred a little when she tried to get up and again when she attempted to lay her down. She ended up spending a little more time rocking her in her arms before she was successful, then she rubbed her back until she was settled.

Ryback came inside to refill his glass. When she turned around she caught him leering at her behind.

"You're awful."

"I'm awful?" he countered. "After what you just said?" she felt her face turn red. He laughed. "Are you serious?'

"No – I don't know."

He tilted her chin and made her look at him just like she always did whenever she dropped her head. It was a habit that she did whenever she was scared or embarrassed or took criticism. Their lips gently touched.

"Does this mean we're ready to cross that line?" She knew what line he meant, but she wasn't sure. She was figuring out why Ryback was acting like her boyfriend and didn't doubt that Randy had put him up to it, but she knew Randy's reasons and knew that it would be a different ball game if she and Ryback were to really become a couple.

Jody walked inside and went the blender and they moved away from each other. She began to mix a new batch of margaritas.

"Do you two want one?"

"yes." She nearly spat and hurried to get them glasses. Drinking felt like a good idea at the moment because she didn't want to deal with the tangled emotions that were knotting up more and more as she tried to straighten them out.

"So, when did this start?" Jody asked and nodded toward the two of them.

"Today I guess?" Ryback grinned and put his arm around her shoulder.

"I think it's great." Jody surprised them by her acceptance. "And I think Hope should stay here tonight." Rain didn't know if it was because the woman had drunk a little too much or if she was truly happy for them. "You're so cute together."

"She's drunk." Ryback laughed. "She thinks any couple is cute when she's drinking. She's a romantic fool, but tonight – mmm – I do plan on taking you home and …"

"That really sounds like your planning on giving her more than a lift." Randy came in and took a beer out of the fridge, popped the top then leaned on the counter. "Go ahead. Don't let me stop you. What were going to say?"

"We were just saying that maybe …" Ryback smiled and looked her way. "Maybe we shouldn't' pretend. That kiss was pretty good, cuz."

Randy had nothing to say, he shoved himself away from the counter and stormed out of the room. Kyle and Jody went retired shortly after and told them to stay and enjoy themselves and Randy cut his eyes when Jody offered Ryback and Rain their guest room, which ironically used to be Randy's room.

But Randy had a point to make and he made it by making out with Molly. He didn't restrain himself in any way. He put his hands under her clothes and pulled her on top of him. He was so wrapped up in showing he was over it that he didn't notice Ryback take Rain's hand and lead her inside the house.


	29. Chapter 29

Randy began drinking early the next morning and he waited. Not in his garage apartment, but at the base of his parents staircase. He had been there since before the sun had risen. Ryback's truck was in the driveway and he knew he was upstairs and he knew he wasn't alone.

His cousin was the first to descend the stairs and Randy knew he would be. Ryback visited the shooting range every morning and a night with Rain wouldn't make him break his routine.

"Don't you think you went a little too far?" he growled at his cousin before the man had realized he was there.

"Hey, I was just doing you a favor." Ryback snapped. "Molly seemed satisfied … and so did you."

"I never told you to screw her!" Randy was irate.

"But I bet you want me to make sure I kiss her goodbye before I leave this morning. You know after breakfast with the family and Molly?"

"A kiss isn't a big deal." Randy retorted standing nose to nose with Ryback. "But you keep your hands off!"

Ryback chuckled.

"I'm not going to do that, cuz. I like her and she feels the same way for me. Who do you think she had in her bed all this time?" Randy's eyes widened in shock while his cousin smirked grabbed his keys and walked out the door. He ran his hand over his face. He felt betrayed by the person closest to him.

Hope came running out of his mother's room. His mom liked to have her granddaughter with her at night and had a bed set up just for the child in her room. The toddler came running into his arms and he had to dismiss his anger and smile. He hugged her tightly.

"You're up early. Where's um – Molly?" his mother asked. His mom never showed signs of a hangover when she awoke from a night of drinking. He guessed it was because she didn't do it often and she drank them slow when she did.

"Still asleep," Randy told her. "I left her a note."

"And you haven't done any grocery shopping this week either have you?"

Randy smiled impishly. His mother usually went and filled his cupboards for him because he never thought about it. Rain had done it when she lived there and he never could take the responsibility.

"Come on and help me cook. Is Ryback and Rain still here?"

"Rain is still sleeping I guess." He sighed. "Ryback just left." He pulled down a container of flour for his mother who always needed a stepping stool to reach.

"That was a shock last night, huh?" she babbled. "Well, I guess it's really not. They spend a lot of time together and I've noticed a few looks here and there with those two." She stopped what she was doing and gazed at her sun. "You're upset about this?"

He didn't admit to anything and cracked eggs in a large bowl instead.

"I guess that's a yes." She sighed. "Well, I'm glad they're together."

"You are?" Randy spat. He expected his mother of all people to be upset about Ryback taking Rain to bed.

"Yes. She had to move on sooner or later and I'm glad that she did with my nephew." She always talked and talked while she worked and that morning Randy found it especially irritating. "Rain's a beautiful woman and she's young. She could have had a relationship with anyone – and then she probably wouldn't be around anymore."

"Sure she would. She would come for Hope."

"Do you really think a stranger would let her attend family get togethers with her ex husband's family? Be serious. It would be a disaster and Rain would stop coming and eventually we would only have Hope every other weekend like most custody situations. And what if the guy lived out of town? Rain would take Hope and move away with him."

Randy hung his head. His mother's words made sense. He didn't wanted his daughter to stay close and if he couldn't' have her; he thought Ryback was the best candidate. He was family and he would keep Rain and Hope close.

Over time he tolerated their relationship. They appeared happy, but they still acted like the good friends they had always been. They didn't parade their intimate relationship in front of him or their family except for an occasional kiss that someone happened to walk up on.

He became very fond of Molly and she moved in with him after a few months of dating, but sometimes she acted sad, but would never say why. Usually she would be this way after a cook out or holiday or after Rain was brought up in a conversation with anyone.

He tried hard not to show his feelings for Rain, but he knew his gaze betrayed him and his relationship with Molly. One day, she found the rings he had hidden away in the closet.

"You weren't supposed to find that." He smiled and took them from her. It had been a long time since had set eyes on them. He saw pain in Molly's eyes and he knew what she suspected and she probably took it as an insult that he had kept them. He didn't want to lose her too so he did the only thing he could think of. He got down on one knee. "This isn't the elaborate proposal I had in mind, but … will you marry me?"

She lit up instantly and accepted his proposal and slipped the ring on her finger and the wedding plans soon followed. Molly seemed to already have the details worked out, but although he did care for her, seeing the ring on her finger sent an arrow through his heart. It was never meant to be worn by anyone but Rain.

Ted came home. He never came home after going to college because he obtained a job in another state. He finally got a vacation and came home with to introduce his new live in girlfriend to his parents. She seemed nice and she and Molly became fast friends and after overhearing them beside the pool he understood why. They both disliked Rain and talked about her negatively when the innocent woman dropped off Hope and hurried off to work. Randy thought it was terrible of Ted's girl because she had never met Rain, but jealousy had that effect on women he supposed.

Later that night, Ted's girl grabbed Molly's hand and gushed over her engagement ring.

"Hey, isn't that the ring you bought for Rain?" Ted had to open his mouth.


	30. Chapter 30

"Rain!" she hadn't completely gotten out of her car before she was stormed by two angry women. Randy was right behind them along with his brother, Ted and his parents. It seemed like the couple was in the middle of a big argument. "I want to know Randy!" Molly screamed and pushed him back. She pushed Rain backwards and she nearly lost her balance.

"Hey! She didn't do anything to you!" Ryback was by her side just as puzzled by the scene they had pulled up to.

"Is this your ring?" she jutted out her hand and Rain gazed at a beautiful heart shaped diamond. "I want the truth. Is it?" Rain was more confused than ever by why Molly was so upset about her engagement ring.

Rain shoved Molly's hand away. She was a little jealous and angry at Randy for his gift. "No." she spat, glaring hatefully at Randy. "I never had a ring. Not even a wedding band." She pushed past the woman who was left chewing on her own accusations. Ted stood back with a smirk on his face and she knew that the commotion was his doing. She gave him a push as she passed. "Damn it, Ted, why do you always have to start shit when you come to town." She went inside to collect her daughter so she could leave. Even though she had moved on from Randy it hurt her feelings that he had bought his new woman a ring when he had never given her anything during their marriage, not even his time.

Randy managed to smooth things over with Molly. Ryback told her that he swore and swore that he bought the ring for Molly and the woman finally believed him, but only after Jody had testified that she had never seen that ring before Molly showed it to her and that she remembered vividly that Rain had never worn a ring. They didn't even exchange rings at their wedding.

Rain and Ryback attended the wedding and Rain surprisingly was happy. Of course, Molly made sure that she and Ryback sat at a table far away from the bride and groom during the reception at her fancy hotel, but it was okay, because she Ryback was beside her and he only wanted her. That was more than she could have ever asked for. It was the fantasy that she never thought she could have.

They didn't live together and they spent more time on the phone some days than they did side by side because some days she had long hours at the hospital and his job kept him busy.

Molly's attitude made Rain shy away from Jody's cook outs and she began to just drop off Hope and then said she had to work so she could leave even if she didn't have to. Ryback would go when she really had to work, but they went out to eat when she didn't. He never said I love you and she didn't say it to him, but they showed it and that was what counted.

Jody insisted that Hope's birthday party be thrown at her home, so they couldn't get out of going. Just as before they stayed late and Molly and Randy left early after revealing their plans to try and have a baby. Molly's eyes stared her down while she said it and she knew Molly meant to hurt her with her plans, but it didn't bother her. In fact, it made her even happier because it finally looked like Randy had moved on and stopped caring about her which meant that she was free to be with Ryback without complications.

That night she and Ryback made love in the pool. It was dark with only the party lights shining bright. He kissed her with so much passion and thrusted slow, enjoying every moment with her and she could not hold in her moans no matter how much she bit her bottom lip. They had been going at it for some time before Ryback had finished and she was wrapped around him, holding him tight with her head on his shoulder until she opened her eyes and found Randy watching in the shadows. He was sitting in a lawn chair with a beer in his hand and his eyes locked on them in anger. She didn't say anything to Ryback, because he would have brutally beaten his cousin for his intrusion, but it bothered her that Randy still harbored feelings for her.

But she had to move on and she forced herself not to let Randy interfere with her happiness. He was married again after all.

"Did you get the week off." Ryback asked her one day. He was waiting in her apartment for her to get off work and had asked her a few weeks before to take the time off. She had no idea what he had in mind.

"Yes." She told him and started to pull out the ingredients from the fridge for their dinner.

"Good." He wrapped his arms around her and kissed her cheek. "I bought you something."

"You did?" Ryback rarely brought her gifts of any kind, so his gesture was a real treat. He presented her with a single rose and she smiled.

"And …" he then handed her two airplane tickets and she read them and laughed.

"Las Vegas?" she laughed and turned to face him. "Really?"

"Mmm hmmm" he kissed her.

"You want to go gamble?"

"That and something else." He reached into his pocket, took her hand and slipped a ring on it. "What do you think?" He was serious and he seemed completely confident about her decision because he didn't stop smiling.

"Okay." She agreed and they laughed.

"I love you so much." He squeezed her tighter than he ever had before.

"I love you too."

"Okay, so we have to get going, because the plane leaves tonight."

"That soon?"

"Yup. I didn't' want to give you a chance to say no." he laughed.

"How did you know I'd even say yes?"

"I knew you would."

"OH, aren't you cocky."

"And you love it."

They rushed to pack. Ryback had to stop by his place and get the bag he had packed and they agreed to meet at Jody's. Jody had agreed to keep Hope while they were gone, but she knew that Randy would have her just as much. She wondered if Ryback had told anyone that they planned to get married on their trip.

She stepped inside and called for her friend. She heard her upstairs so she put Hope down and she ran to the box in the living room for her toys. Rain took a deep breath. She had a secret of her own and she didn't know how to tell it. She poured herself a glass of tea and took the tickets out of her purse and sat them on the counter. She stared at them and smiled as she gazed at her ring. She was pregnant and the news was going to be the perfect wedding gift for Ryback.

She felt something in her hair and then something hard and cold on her head. It was odd feeling and she wore a puzzled expression. She hadn't heard anyone come into the room. Then she caught a reflection in the glass cupboard doors. Someone was in fact standing right behind her.

Bang!


	31. Chapter 31

"You're really going to do this?" Randy was beside himself with Ryback's news.

"I love her and she loves me. We're getting married tonight." Ryback insisted. They stood talking near the woods after he had asked Ryback to help him moved some large rocks his mother needed moved from the yard. That's when his cousin told him that he had asked Rain the big question.

Randy thought he was okay until he heard those words. That was the moment he realized he couldn't take it. He wanted her back and even though he was married to Molly, he couldn't shake away his feelings for Rain.

Of course he hadn't said anything in a long time and he hadn't let anyone see his affection for Rain, but he couldn't help sneaking a look at the two of them. He would watch them when they were around and he would wish he was in Ryback's place.

In a second he reversed his decision. He was going to win Rain back and he wasn't going to let Ryback do anything that would make it more difficult that it already was.

"Oh, so I guess she knows everything about you?" he snapped.

"Yes."

"Really?" he challenged. "Does she know how you got that nice little nest egg? Does she know all about the money in that duffle bag you keep hidden in your attic?" his cousin's eyes grew wide.

"You wouldn't."

"Call it off or I will." His cousin had a dark secret that no one knew. No one except Randy. He was a thief and he preferred armed robbery. He had been at it for years, knocking off liquor stores, gas stations and on occasion he had fired off a round or two. In his career he had killed one man who had surprised him by pulling a gun of his own. "I'll call the cops, Ryback. I'll turn you in."

"Randy, you're married to someone else." Ryback grew angry and yelled. "How can you keep holding on to her? We're family. You can't blackmail me like this."

Then they heard an echoing boom. It sounded too close, like it had come from inside his mother's home. Their argument seized immediately and they looked at each other for a moment before they took off running.

They ran into the living room. Hope was screaming. Jody was crying and holding her hand over her mouth.

"Rain?" Ryback saw her first and he ran to her side and scooped her into his arms. He sat on the floor shaking and screaming. Running his hands over her face and rocking her limp body.

Randy ran out the back door and searched. Who had done it? They had to be close, but he saw no one, not even a footprint. He ran back inside. He couldn't stand to look at Rain. Not with all the blood coming from the back of her head. He scooped up his daughter who pointed at her mother and cried hysterically and took her out of the room. He sat on the floor against the wall and cried and held his daughter. He knew Rain was gone and he couldn't take the loss.

"No." Ryback sobbed. "Baby, please." Ryback hollered and cried. He screamed in anger and sorrow.

Molly came running into the house the moment she heard the sirens enter the drive way.

"Oh no." she covered her mouth and ran to Randy's side.

The cops came. The paramedics came, but no one could console Ryback. He refused to let anyone close to Rain. He shoved paramedics away if they tried. He had lost control and no one could console him. No one could reason with him or convince him to let Rain go. For hours he rocked her and stroked her lifeless cheek until someone managed to tranquilize him from behind. By then it was nearly midnight.

Rain's funeral didn't bring anyone any peace. Ryback and Randy didn't speak to each other, but they shared the same pain. His cousin didn't leave the grave with the family and he didn't show up at the family's home after. It grew dark and still no one had seen or heard from him.

Finally, Randy went looking for him and found him sitting in the same chair he had been in when Randy had left the graveyard. He sat with it turned backwards and his head leaned on the back. He stared at the fresh dirt. Randy stood beside him, but he didn't speak. He had never seen the big man break down so far. He had never seen him cry or lose control.

Randy knelt down and touched the dirt. He wanted to scream too, but he didn't know if he had the right to. His eyes stayed swollen and bloodshot. It was a horrible and ruthless crime to commit and the victim had never intentionally hurt anyone.

"She was all I had." Ryback whispered. "You always had women, cuz. You will always have someone, but Rain; she was all I ever had. She's my world and I don't know where to go now. I don't want to go anywhere. I want to stay right here with her."

Jody was the one who finally lured Ryback away from Rain's grave and he seemed to go on with his life, but often they would find him sitting beside her. Once or twice they had found him drunk and passed out on top of her grave. It was the only time anyone would see him as less than the brick wall he appeared to be out in the world. He was angry and mean to anyone who dared to talk to him.

Randy took Rain's death just as hard, but he held it inside. He had his daughter who needed him more than ever since her mother was gone. Molly was understanding and she was very good to Hope and he appreciated her so much. She stayed by his side and consoled him and the rest of his family and she even offered a friendly pat on Ryback's shoulder when he did come around, but that wasn't often.

For months, the authorities gave them no news about who had taken Rain from them. They believed that someone had attempted to break in and was surprised to find Rain there, but the fact that she had been shot at such a close range raised many questions.

Then one day the mystery was solved. Two police officers came to Randy's door and they asked for Molly.

"You're under arrest for murder." And they read the rights to her. Randy stood in disbelief.

"Why?" He asked his wife. It made no sense.

"Because I knew I would never have your heart completely as long as she was still alive." Molly snarled at him. All the anger he had never noticed before was in her eyes and Randy was left with the knowledge that Rain's death was his fault.

It started so innocently. He had wanted only to protect her and in the end the obsession he could not let go of took her life. And he had to live with the blame for the rest of his life.


End file.
